BLACK BOX
Sound: Mathieu Corajod’s Untitled, For a Box
7” x 10” x 13”
Magnet, wooden box, ink on paper (doubling as a speaker membrane), motors, LEDs, sound module, matte board and microprocessor.

Black Box is a sensor activated, micro-processor driven, visual, aural and kinetic work. Its title is a literal description of the piece – both its appearance and reference to the term black box. In other words, it is an opaque system whose inputs and outputs are clearly evident, but how those effects are achieved remain hidden. This is the essence of computers and many other computational/electronic devices, which, of course, Black Box also is. But, at the same time, removing the top of Black Box exposes its opposite – a white box – meant to conjure up such notions as transparency and white light.

Acknowledgements: George Bossarte for building the LED circuit and technical advice, Michel Aksent for use of his workshop and the Cité International des Arts for the residency where this work was produced.