ON AIR

ON AIR / Peter van Haaften, Michael Montanaro, Garnet Willis - Photo: Jonathan Goulet

ON AIR

Peter van Haaften (CA), Michael Montanaro (CA), Garnet Willis (CA)

The audience speaks into the bells of two horns. Sound is inhaled into an alchemical apparatus. The collected voices become chaotically entangled within the tensile confines of an expanding latex balloon. Trapped inside the captured aether words collide, fragment, and recombine, modulating their contextual and phonetic arrangement. A soundscape of ricocheting voices is perceived, emerging from deep inside the balloon. Over time, the pressure becomes too great and like a sonic capacitor, sound is freed from its reservoir.

The valves open. Airborne voices are forced through a series of reflective steel cornets towards an elastic membrane where mechanically induced friction compels the collected voices to incandesce. Behind the pulsating membrane, an iris opens, slowly releasing the luminous voices towards a series of glass lenses and mirrors. From here follows a five-part choral harmony of mirrors that builds into a final cacophonous performance of sound, rhythm, and light.

POSTCITY, Bunker

By starting the content, you agree that data will be transmitted to vimeo.com.
Data Protection Declaration
  • Garnet Willis

    Garnet Willis is an interdisciplinary artist, audio-engineer, designer, and instrument builder. Garnet’s research investigates the crossroads between sensation, form over time, sentient matter, and material agency. He combines his disparate skills to produce multivariate artworks that tend to revolve around sound. He develops shapeshifting sculptures that utilize complex material calculations driven by internal stresses resulting in unpredictable, real-time changes in physical form.

  • Michael Montanaro

    Michael Montanaro is a trans-disciplinary artist who is known for his work in the fields of contemporary dance, theatre, film, and interactive media. His creative process reflects a dedication to the envisioning, the conceptual design, and the creation of projects focused on evolving innovative ways in which performative practices and technology can be used collaboratively to enhance the interactive experience.  His work continues to be featured both nationally and internationally.

Credits

Peter van Haaften: Creative direction, concept and design, composition, sound design, interaction design, programming, electronics, acoustics. Michael Montanaro: Creative direction, concept and design, visual design / realization, interaction design, optomechanical design, fabrication. Garnet Willis: Concept execution, lead designer, engineering, sculptural realization, acoustics, mechatronics, testing, tooling and fabrication. Special Thanks: Martin Marier, Nima Navab, Thierry Dumont, Tatev Yesayan, Carolie Delisle, Dirk Zylstra, Guillaume Fortin, Eureka Lighting, Nichia Corporation. With support from: Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des Arts de Montréal, Fonds de recherche du Québec, MOULIN DE L'IMPRÉVU, and Concordia University (Montréal). Presented in the context of European Digital Deal. European Digital Deal is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport. Presented with the support of CALQ.

Please note: The program for the Ars Electronica Festival 2025 is still in progress.
We are currently preparing all the information for the website and plan to put the full program online in the coming days – stay tuned!