WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS

INSTALLATION FOR AUTOMATED GUITAR

FOG FESTIVAL BASEL, CH

2024

Design, Construction & SoftwarE | Severin Dornier

In WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS, an electric guitar is presented within a metal frame, equipped with multiple linear actuators and motors. During the installation, the strings of the suspended guitar are excited by an e-bow, which is maneuvered over the strings by the robotic mechanism. These motors position the e-bow at precise points along the strings, creating partial harmonics that result in a rich ambient sound texture, projected into the space through a tube amplifier. Simultaneously, the magnetic fields generated by the motors are captured by electromagnetic microphones and transmitted to multiple surrounding speakers. At specific motor positions, the complex interactions between the magnetic field of the e-bows and the guitar pickups lead to nearly uncontrollable noise.

Fotos & Video ©Erwin Fonseca