Montreal artist crams disco into a box
27.06.2008 21:02
Arts
- Source: cbc.ca
 Niklas Roy and Adad Hannah work on the International Dance Party. (Courtesy of the artists)Montreal artist Adad Hannah calls his latest project a "disco in a box." Its real name is International Dance Party and it's a machine created by Hannah and fellow artist Niklas Roy. Initially, it looks like a black flight case on wheels — about two metres by one metre — Hannah told CBC's cultural affairs Q show on Thursday. "As soon as somebody walks in front of it, it will slowly open up. The first thing that happens is a panel comes down in the front with a multi-coloured LED sign that will say 'Dance to start the party' in 23 different languages," he said. The device was created to respond to movement, especially dancing, from people standing nearby. "I had made some installations before that responded to people standing still, this one I wanted to be about motion, be fed by people," Hannah said. When people respond to it, the International Dance Party becomes a party machine, introducing music, coloured lights, a disco ball, even fog. It made its debut at Montreal's Elektra Digital Art Festival last month, and was quite a hit. "It's quite clear, quite quickly that your movement is generating the opening of the box, the hydraulics, the light effects, the disco ball, the smoke machine, the ground machine, the laser effect," Hannah said. The more people, the more movement, the better it works. People loved it. "It turns into as much of a party as is in front of it," Hannah said. The box has a track of what Hannah calls "Eurotrash ass-shaking beats" from Vancouver Nerdcore DJ Baddd Spellah. For the artists, the fun is in watching people interact with their machine and they've got it touring expos and art festivals. Roy and Hannah also put up a website showing the device in action and potential customers around the world expressed real interest in buying one. But they're not in a position to mass produce the machine, which cost "more than a car, less than a condo," Hannah said. Instead, they put the plans on Creative Commons website where they hope others will take their idea and innovate. Roy, a Berlin-based artist, is the technical brains behind the International Dance Party. Hannah said he's hoping someone will create a bigger version of their creation or one that has Big Band or country music. Hannah's work has been exhibited at the Muse national des beaux-arts du Qubec, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada. 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