,Jul 09, 2005 23:10:48

OPERA (birds)

Info This is a computer program that plays bird sound. The bird sound follows some of the laws of nature and is also affected by the position of the sun. The composition is partly random. The singing comes from birds that are site specific and from birds that have been selected on esthetical grounds. This is an opera that will go on 24 hours a day and could be heard in central Gothenburg 7/5-22/5 -05. It try to show the nature at the specific place were the art piece is shown. The piece is also shown at a computer inside the gallery and online.

A rare bird might sing every day for a long period of time but it is not likely. The probability that a blackbird or a chaffinch will sing during night time is small but it might happen. Some days the jackdaw will sing together with the nightingale other days with the magpie or on its own in solitude. Some birds sing during night others are more likely to be heard in daytime, and so on. Within the program there are also some birds of prey that can take over and make all the other birds quiet for hours, days or weeks. Thus the opera can take many forms and becomes impossible to predict. The singing of the birds is also affected by the position of the sun. The singing is most intensive at sunrise and sunset. The birds that normally reside around Vasagatan (Gothenburg); Seagulls, crows, magpies, pigeons, finches, blackbirds will probably be the most frequent singers during this two weeks, while the sparrow hawk and other rare birds will be heard more rarely or even not at all.

I have made a database that registers and stores all the birds, this is what you see on the screen. Here you can see exactly what has happened throughout the time that the program has been running, a digital ornithologist. The piece is shown here but the bird sounds can also be heard outside the school at Vasagatan through speakers. You can see the database at: the database,vasagatan 7/5-22/5 (in swedish)

I also made an online version of this piece, Online version . Start the program and wait for the birds to start singing.

If you see the online version you may have to wait for the birds to sing, depending on what time you visit the site. Every bird that is singing will be stored in a database that will go on for years

The program will be programmed specific for different cities and their nature and birds.