plan b

when working with living things, or kinetic things, i've realised it's important to have a plan b. plants die, batteries go flat, timers fail. since my soldering incident recently, my thoughts have turned to measures of secure efficiency.

there is the possibility with this next installation that:
 - the water rushing through the pipes is a rare event that i just happened to be fortunate to hear at the specific day and time i went in to visit the site
 - the microphones may not sufficiently detect an audible vibration (perhaps the pipes are too thick)
 - the amps may not sufficiently increase the intensity of the vibrations to create a loud enough sound through the speakers

these are just 3 main things i can think of now, that will effect the way the artwork exists in the space.

in light of that, i have to be prepared to adapt the plan to suit the occasion and specifics of the space itself. that is, i have to arm myself with the materials i think will be interesting, and then apply them effectively to the situation. the plan is always just the preparation of your approach to the site. once in the site, you mould the plan to the environmental conditions, in order to create the situation.

at the moment, plan b consists of double amping the mics, to increase the volume of sound (if required), and/or aborting the material of the desk lamps in order to increase the amount of speaker cones (which i have dozens of), such that the situation becomes more about sound and less about the connotations of materials.

if there's no sound to be 'harvested' from the pipes, then a more significant re-evaluation of the artwork will be required.

the exhilarating part of this process is the fact that i won't know how successful my plan will be in determining the situation until i actually engage with the environmental conditions. which will give me 2 days to adjust, customise and re-consider - should that be needed.