david bowen tracks the movement and shapes of clouds to play a piano

cloud piano by david bowen automatically plays with cloud shapes and movement

what if real clouds had the potential to inform data and physical space? ‘cloud piano’ is an installation commissioned by l’assaut de la menuiserie in saint-etienne, france that plays the keys of a piano based on the movements and shapes of clouds. developed by american artist david bowen, the piece uses a camera pointed towards the sky that captures footage of the billowing masses as they pass through sensors. custom software uses the video of the clouds in real-time to articulate a robotic device that presses the corresponding keys on the piano. the system is set in motion to function as if the clouds are pressing the keys on the piano as they move across the sky and change shape. the resulting sound is generated from the unique key patterns created by ethereal forms that build, sweep, fluctuate and dissipate in the sky.

video courtesy david bowen

the installation plays the keys of a piano based on the movements and shapes of clouds

custom software and cloud footage articulate a robotic device that presses keys in real time

a camera and sensors are pointed towards the sky

MaxMSP maps the cloud movement as they move across the sky and change shape