In many homes, the electric fan is the only appliance that moves independently. Its motion is fixed and mechanical, but because it moves at all it nevertheless maintains a sense of life.

In this installation a lone fan sits on a chair, its breath captured by microphones hung from the ceiling and transformed into harmonic chords. As air hits the microphones it also passes through flowers suspended in midair, sprigs of nature among the surrounding machine that rustle in the wind. Visitors are invited to see, hear, and feel.

Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics
Stanford, CA