Disc.o, optical loop temple

Disc.o

Disc.o is a plastic representation of the unit length of repetitive contemporary music: the Loop. The author, Andreas Haider (aka muk), is explicitly referencing the SuperPiano of Emerick Spielmann, invented in 1929 as the first photoelectric sound synthesizer. The installation consists of two parallel circular planes positioned at head height and connected to the ceiling. The lower disc consists of 8 CD players, which correspond to as many mirrored LEDs mounted on the second disc, which is smaller, concentric to the first and supported by thin columns. Reflected by the underlying paths and scratched cds, the light of the LEDs is converted into sound by the photodiodes and amplified by eight speakers positioned on the ceiling around users. The sounds of each cd player generated by the photodiodes along with lights and circular shapes are repeated constantly and redundantly, becoming a consistent translation of the concepts of repetition and obsession. The round shape of the installation and the small columns supporting the smaller circle give the structure a sense of an ancient “monoptero” temple, a particular sacred circular building that was erected in ancient Greece for only the most important deities. Perhaps unintentionally, this reference covers the work with a mystique air, with repetition (from rosaries to the ohm) being practiced to alter mental states, just as with music.

Chiara Ciociola