The Bolshoi Drama Theater has begun a dialogue with higher realms – music
Art and science have come together within the Great Audience Foyer of the G. A. Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater, where the installation "8.12" has opened. This impressive art piece is a huge sphere hovering in the air, responding to the movements of the audience.
Made of special opaque materials, the sphere immediately attracts attention: it seems to defy the laws of gravity, literally hovering in the air like an alien civilization.
Eight chairs are arranged around the installation, allowing viewers to observe and interact with the sphere. The sphere registers the appearance of a person and responds to their movements, even the slightest, with a specific sound.
As the sphere's creators explain, the algorithmic system analyzes the amplitude, rhythm, and intensity of viewer gestures, and converts this data into sound signals. Each observer becomes an independent source of a musical piece, which changes with the appearance of a new participant: "A gesture is transformed into a tone, and the totality of movements into an orchestral score," the creators explain.
Despite the fact that the art object is located in the foyer, interaction with the sphere is conceived as a rather private experience: no more than eight people can interact with it at a time. The installation expands the range of perception of the creative process: the act of observation subtly connects with the act of creation, and each observer's gesture creates a new musical reality.
Mikhail Samusenko, a student in Andrei Moguchy’s directing course, and Ekaterina Arkhipova, a scientific consultant on physics and the developer of the installation’s audiovisual algorithm, developed the concept. Composer Oleg Gudachev wrote the music for the sphere, and the art object owes its visual appearance to Sergei Korytov. Director Andrei Moguchy and artist Alexander Shishkin-Hokusai curated the project. The installation's launch coincides with the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry and is dedicated to the theater's long-standing partnership with the Rosatom Corporation.
Made of special opaque materials, the sphere immediately attracts attention: it seems to defy the laws of gravity, literally hovering in the air like an alien civilization.
Eight chairs are arranged around the installation, allowing viewers to observe and interact with the sphere. The sphere registers the appearance of a person and responds to their movements, even the slightest, with a specific sound.
As the sphere's creators explain, the algorithmic system analyzes the amplitude, rhythm, and intensity of viewer gestures, and converts this data into sound signals. Each observer becomes an independent source of a musical piece, which changes with the appearance of a new participant: "A gesture is transformed into a tone, and the totality of movements into an orchestral score," the creators explain.
Despite the fact that the art object is located in the foyer, interaction with the sphere is conceived as a rather private experience: no more than eight people can interact with it at a time. The installation expands the range of perception of the creative process: the act of observation subtly connects with the act of creation, and each observer's gesture creates a new musical reality.
Mikhail Samusenko, a student in Andrei Moguchy’s directing course, and Ekaterina Arkhipova, a scientific consultant on physics and the developer of the installation’s audiovisual algorithm, developed the concept. Composer Oleg Gudachev wrote the music for the sphere, and the art object owes its visual appearance to Sergei Korytov. Director Andrei Moguchy and artist Alexander Shishkin-Hokusai curated the project. The installation's launch coincides with the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry and is dedicated to the theater's long-standing partnership with the Rosatom Corporation.
