Volute

“Volute” is the world’s first 3D-printed speech bubble. In 1860, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville recorded the phrase "Au clair de la lune" on his phonoautograph, making the first known recording of human speech. In “Volute 1: Au Clair de la Lune”, the same phrase is materialized with a new method developed by Lozano-Hemmer’s studio in conjunction with fluid dynamic scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology, Auburn University, and NYU. Breath exhaled while speaking is scanned by a custom-made laser tomograph, then converted into a 3D shape using photogrammetry and, finally, printed in high-definition stainless steel.

In Lozano Hemmer’s series of "Volute"—words, phrases, and songs—are rendered into turbulent clouds, containing layers of complex folds and vortices. This piece is inspired by Charles Babbage’s 1837 statement that the atmosphere is a vast library that contains all the words that have been spoken in the past. The piece includes a video of the tomography slices on a square display, showing the cloud in motion.

General info

Spanish name:
Voluta
Year of creation:
2016

Volute 1: Au Clair de la Lune

Technique:
3D-printed polished aluminum, tomography video
Room conditions:
Natural or artificial light. The piece is silent and is not affected by other sounds.
Dimensions:
Sculpture: 65 x 19 x 21 cm
video: variable dimensions
Keywords:
indoor, outdoor, generator, database
Edition:
6 Editions, 2 AP
Collectors:
Fondation Giverny pour l’art contemporain

Volute 0

Technique:
3D-printed polished aluminum, tomography video
Room conditions:
Natural or artificial light, the piece is silent and is not affected by other sounds
Dimensions:
Sculpture: 7 x 7 x 6 cm
video: variable dimensions
Weight:
0.5 kg
Additional info:
word “Au” excerpt from Volute 1
Keywords:
indoor, outdoor, generator, database
Edition:
35 Editions, 3 AP
Collectors:
private collectors

Volute 2: Listen to the World

Technique:
cast polished aluminum, steel cables
Room conditions:
Natural or artificial light, the piece is silent and is not affected by other sounds
Additional info:
“Listen to the World, Volute 2" (2023) was made with a laser-tomography scan of the turbulent air ejected by a single human voice as it uttered the sentence: “Listen to the World.”

An homage to the influential composer R. Murray Schafer, who revolutionized the arts with his practice of acoustic ecology and his concept of the “soundscape,” the sculpture renders the spoken word tangible.

At the same time, the piece intones a vastly different tradition, that of the “speech-scroll” (also called a speech-bubble, banderole, phylactery or volute), an illustrative device similar to those used by Olmec, Mayan, Mixtec and other Pre-Columbian cultures to represent spoken words or song. The piece is part of two permanent collections, National Gallery of Art in Ottawa and Jumex Collection in Mexico City.
Keywords:
indoor, outdoor, generator, database
Edition:
3 Editions, 1 AP
Collectors:
Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, National Gallery of Canada

Exhibitions


Credits

  • Production: Stephan Schulz, Kitae Kim, Miguel Legault and Sergio Clavijo
  • Georgia Institute of Technology: S. Johnston, J. Imgrund, D. Fries and Devesh Ranjan
  • Auburn University: K. Johnson, J. Bolton, C. Clifford and B. Thurow
  • New York University: E. Fonda and K. Sreenivasan

Links


Bibliography