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Music for a Variety of Difficult Situations Seven Three Split Gallery, Chicago Ill., May 2001.
This piece is entitled Music for a Variety of Difficult Situations. It is comprised of several elements including music, electronics, and sculpture.

Music for a Variety of Difficult Situations takes the following physical form: A hospital gurney (c. 1950) sits in a room illuminated by a small lamp. Behind the gurney are three speakers which are arranged in a pyramidal configuration and angled in such a way that optimal listening is achieved while lying flat on the clinical platform. Music is played through the speakers using custom electronics which are placed in a metal tray below the gurney. All sound originates from the electronics which were designed to perpetually generate sound. Here is what it sounded like. Clip 1 (30Sec) Clip 2 (30Sec)

Here are some other still photos of Music for a Variety of Difficult Situations.
Photo One A viewer may opt to lay on the gurney and listen to the music
Photo Two Or he/she can view the object passively
Photo Three Lars-Gunnar relaxes on the gurney
Photo Four A frontal-oblique angle
Photo Five The circuitry which generates the sound is under the gurney on a metal tray. Here is a detail view
Photo Six View of circuit board
Photo Seven Another view of circuit board


Two more photos in different lighting courtesy of Chris Penrose. Thanks Chris
Photo Eight From behind
Photo Nine From the side

The relationship between the elements of sound, electronics, visual components, and the psychological considerations are described at length in this PDF file. The first chapter describes my artistic methodology and aesthetic views. It also relates these views to other artists and composers who have worked in a similar manner, and to whose history I am indebted. The second chapter is a purely objective description of the sound, and rhythmic structure of the music. The third chapter is an in depth discussion of the circuitry. It assumes a thorough understanding of electronics. The following Appendices correspond to references made in this PDF file

Appendix A (the schematic) high-resolution med-resolution
Appendix B Photos of ElectroPlasmic Limb Deflector (See below)
Appendix C Not Applicable
Appendix D Maxim Data Sheet





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The Electroplasmic Limb Deflector Project Room, Philadelphia PA, July 2000.
In this piece a thirty by six foot sheet of reflective Mylar acts as a giant loudspeaker. The Mylar was stretched diagonally from the ceiling to the floor. Music was recorded and played back via two CD players. This music was computer generated and consisted primarily of very low frequencies. In response to these low frequencies, the sheet vibrated-- often quite violently-- and reflected the light from above onto the viewer's face and surrounding space. The reflected light was similar to the way in which light is reflected from the surface of a pool or lake.

Here are some other still photos of The Electroplasmic Limb Deflector.
Frontal view
From above
From behind. If you look really carefully, you can see the small coils of wire adhered to the back.
video documentation23MB (sorry)

a review of the piece
local copy of review




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Occult Desensitizer Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia PA, December 1998.
A two minute composition was created in software and played back through an eight channel system of digital tape and four amplifiers. Speakers of varying quality and capabilities were used. For example, some speakers could not reproduce bass frequencies, while others worked intermittently and produced distortion. These characteristics contributed to the overall sonic character of the piece. .
Picture taken during the making of this piece




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Across Two States Connecticut River, Hanover NH and Norwich VT- May 2000
For some time now, I have been exploring alternatives to conventional listening environments (ie. listening to music in a concert hall, at home, or on a car stereo). Basically I'm tired of regular speakers. Of course, unusual spacialization techniques and alternatives have been explored in great lengths by several composers including myself. But the results have been somewhat predictable, and are often confined to typical studio or gallery listening environments. What better way to overcome these conventions, but to play music outdoors through a 200 foot pipe in New Hampshire, and across a river and two states.

In Across Two States I did just that. While sitting at the base of the Connecticut River, some friends and I noticed an extremely large drainage pipe which emptied into the river. We decided to try to find the origin of the pipe, and located it several hundred feet up the hill. I yelled into the pipe, and realized that the amplification was tremendous. My voice, although faint, could be heard all the way on the opposite side of the river. What was most exciting, was that from this far away vantage point, it was very difficult to locate the direction or origin of the sound. The sound seemed to be coming from above, or maybe from across the river, or perhaps from downstream.

I decided to compose music for this unusual locale. To prepare for this task, I found the resonant frequencies of the pipe by running test tones into the large opening. With this information, I went back to the studio, and arranged the music which would be played. We then rented a small gas powered electric generator, and used it to power a large PA amplifier and large speaker. We inserted the speaker into to the mouth of the pipe and played the music. Here is a small clip of the sound. Keep in mind that this clip is from the original sound source. This is what it sounded a few feet from the speaker. But by the time the sound traveled the entire length of the pipe, and then deflected across the river, it was radically transformed. There was a heavy delay, and some frequencies were either blurred, amplified, or attenuated. This transformation was particularly exciting to hear, and was completely unpredictable.

Here is a photo from the receiving end of this sonic experience.




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Untitled Vox Populi Gallery, Philadelphia PA, March 1999.
This piece was done in collaboration with installation artist John Lange and musician Charles Cohen. John worked on the video elements of the piece, while Charles and I recorded the sound. The objects on the right and left sides of the listeners heads are handmade speakers which I constructed. Click here for a closeup views of speakers (1, 2)

MP3 of piece.(2MB). Please be patient with download. Should take 5 seconds with ISDN/ cable or 10 minutes with regular dial up.