"ishi ~ listening stone"

ishi" is the work for stone, crystal radio, radio signal and laptop. The work is based on my ongoing interest in soundscape and the invisible signals of the urban environment. The crystal radio is the historical radio technology of 100 years ago without a battery and using a mineral to get the radio signal. A stone is the natural product and is used for Japanese traditional gardening for years. I feel the poesy and get inspired by the fact that a stone, a quiet passive existence, is listening the radio signal in secret.

In Japanese, "ishi" means "stone" as well as "will" and "intention." With the piece, I try to listen to the will of stone through both radio transmissions and other invisible vibrations. The captured signal will then be mutated to create an intimate, poetic sound that forms a tiny moment of quiet in the city.

This work is commissioned by Roulette with funds provided by the Jerome Foundation.

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I did the development based on the crystal radio kit by Gakken (already sold out), the Kenji Kobayashi's book "Bokura No Kouseki Radio" (only available in Japanese) as well as the online resources.

The biggest concerning about the performance was the antenna and ground issue. Since the performance venue is in the first floor of building in Soho, NYC, the long outside antenna is impossible. In my online researches, the antenna ideas by Japanese people are very helpful. It makes sense if you think about the living environment in Japan. Luckily enough we can get some good signal from the heating pipe near the entrance as well as the window flame, so we put the 20~30 feet length wire from there into the performance room. (I shoot some photos, but they are not good, so no photos in this page. . .)


For the performance setting, I make the stone stage like above. The stage is made by the small canvas covered by the 100% brass wire mesh. So if you connect the metal parts to the wire and touch the detector's needle on the stone, you can listen the radio. (You can see more details of the performance setting below.) About the stone, I use pyrite, galena etc. I wanted to try with a zincite, because the appearance is more clear beautiful crystal than the gray mineral. Unfortunatelly, I have no time to shop one, but next time ! Also, in future, I'd like to make the lighting device using the conductive crystal.

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I forget to shoot the photos of performance. . . I will upload more contents (video and audio file) when i get them.

(Dec.2007)