100 Clapping Machines

STEAMplant project exhibition: "100 Clapping Machines"

October 6th-20th, 2022

By Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy, in collaboration with Helio Takai

About the Exhibit

“100 Clapping Machines” is an indoor installation of a hundred individual clapping machines, sometimes clapping in unison, sometimes seemingly randomly. Visitors are encouraged to interact with the installation by making sounds (clapping or stomping).

Each clapper claps on a time interval, but will also adjust its phase (i.e. time delay) as it listens to match its neighbors’ claps, similar to how some species of fireflies synchronize their flashing. Each clapper has a small microcontroller, a piezo (acting as a microphone), a motor with a cam, and a spring to actuate two blocks of aluminum that hit each other to clap.

This project highlights the beauty of and the science of sync. As visitors walk around the installation and disrupt the synchronization of clappers they can see how syncing works and how we can become part of it or become disruptions in the system.

Location

MSCI Gallery (Ground floor, ARC Building, F-09), Pratt Institute Brooklyn Campus

Gallery Hours

Opening reception: October 6th 5-7pm

Open hours: October 7th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 18th, and 20th 12-2pm, and by appointment

Closing reception: October 20th 7:30-8:30pm. RSVP here.

For private showings, please contact Che-Wei at cwwang@gmail.com

About the Artists

Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy have backgrounds in Architecture, Film and Computer Science. The duo met at NYU ITP where they began their scale and medium agnostic approach to design.

Wang and Levy lecture extensively on design and technology as a creative medium. They teach courses on time, electronics, hardware, programming, inflatables and morphology at Pratt Institute, New York University and the School for Poetic Computation. Their pedagogy extends into the home/studio where they host office hours to lend a hand, or offer insight to anyone interested in figuring out how to make something themselves.

This exhibition is sponsored by STEAMplant, an interdisciplinary funding initiative at Pratt Institute, with additional reception support from the Academic Senate.