We attended the opening of The New Museum’s latest interactive installation: DELQA.
Today marked the final day that DELQA will be open to the public and it’s definitely a must-see experience. Combining the efforts of Microsoft Kinect technology with the music of Matthew Dear as well as NEW INC members Charlie Whitney, Philip Sierzega, Yotam Mann and The Principals, DELQA is an interactive experience unlike any other. Viewers are given the ability to manipulate and dictate the sound patterns of a pre-generated beat by interacting with the environment through touching and climbing. The installation gives the viewer power to not only influence the music, but the visual production of lights as well. It was amazing going behind the scenes to see how this team’s collaborative efforts produced such a magnificent product.
Whitney said, “Material choices for this project were specifically chosen to play to the strengths of Kinect”, a platform used by music artists from Kanye West to Nine Inch Nails. “We’ve found mesh fabrics that are transparent to the color and IR cameras, and opaque to the depth camera. Using these unique characteristics we can use a single device to look at walls and through walls at the same time. This lets us track people and environment separate to each other, but more importantly, how they interact in real time.
Steve Milton, a Founding Partner of Listen said, “Throughout history, musicians and artists have been eager to work with new technology in order to move beyond traditional forms of expression. Here we are working with Matthew Dear and Microsoft’s Kinect technology to create new ways of experiencing music by blurring the lines between creator and audience.”