Metaphors for Dead Pianos

Metaphors for Dead Pianos is a set of interactive sonic sculptures built by dismembering acoustic pianos that previous owners throw away. The poetical goal is to revive the instruments using a contemporary sonic perspective. The pianos are extended with custom electronic circuits, custom software, microcontrollers, sensor, motors, and solenoids.
Using the sensors, a computer registers and analyzes the audience's behaviors generating the materials that the piano bodies reproduces with the solenoids, and motors. The result is a modulation between the audience interaction and the spectral analysis of the “Well-Tempered Clavier” by J. S. Bach.

Metaphors for Dead Pianos III uses one grand piano and one suspended grand piano frame. The characteristic of this third version is the confrontation between two objects of different visual and acoustic properties.

This work is also sponsored in part by the Center for Digital Arts and Experimental Media at the University of Washington (DXARTS) and a grant of the program Jóvenes Creadores by the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes from Mexico.