Visual+Interaction project

Process

I thought about an object that could materialize the rhythm of a poem throught a colour/shape codification.
In particular I figured out this code:

_ a pattern that represent a time unit
_ a different colour for a different vowel _ a different shape for a stressed vowel _ a time-based disposition

Thinking about a physical model I tried different materials:
_lego bricks, but they were too static and rigid
_soft metal bars and polistirol coloured bricks, but they were too week
At the end I opted for coloured bubble gums.
They were perfect addressing the different senses: touch, smell, sight. About how to dispose them I struggled a bit. I wanted something very abstract, like sticking them on some trasparent tape spread between the edges of a window, but talking with other people this idea sounded not interactive enough. I then decided to use the wooden bars because you could move and shoot them moving and this was a nice graphic result.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this project comes from a poem: "Les Voyelles" by Arthur Rimbaud and expecially from these verses:
"A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu : voyelles,
Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes" 

Next step: Virtual Synesthesia

Now I want to go further. Reflecting on what I've done I think the next step is to realize a virtual version of the system. In particular I chose to avoid random variables (as moving or rotating a bar in the physical world) because what they generate is not always reproducible.
Virtual synesthesia, is my new work in progress, it allows you to write your own poem (or to choose an existing one) and to transform and print the synestetic version, trough coloured little squares.

Applications

Basically I think about Synesthesia as _an expressive piece of art
_a tool for inspiration
_a playful prototype for education to understand what's rhythm