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How it works
How it works
LOOP is a light, sound and kinetic installation composed of 12 giant zoetropes.
Take a seat inside a zoetrope individually or in pairs and activate the lever to illuminate and rotate the image cylinder, giving the illusion of animated images.
The speed at which the images scroll, the frequency at which the light flickers, and the rhythm of the sound composition depend on the rate of your leverage.
The animated images are accompanied by the sounds of a music box also controlled by your lever movements, placed at the heart of each loop.
Discovery Activities
Discovery Activities
The time machine
Each LOOP is a giant zoetrope.
Did you know that the zoetrope is the ancestor of animation movies?
GOOD TO KNOW!
A zoetrope is an optical toy that was invented in the 19th century. Its mechanism is based on the optical principle of retinal persistence in humans.
A zoetrope creates the illusion of motion from a sequence of still images. Concretely, it is a cylinder with openings at regular intervals on its sides, inside of which is a circular band bearing a cycle of still and sequenced images (for example: snapshots of the movements of a horse running).
Modern replica of a Victorian zoetrope.
When the cylinder spins, you can see the images inside come to life (as if the horse is really running in front of your eyes!) thanks to the retina of your eye that connects each image to the next, giving the illusion of continuity.
To transport yourself to the cinema, two centuries earlier...
You should see an animated story appear, like an old cartoon!
Step 1
Get into a LOOP alone or with a partner, then move the lever (the metal bar) with force and speed!
Step 2
Observe the images when the lever is stationary, then observe the images when the lever is moving. Do you see a difference?
The time machine
Each LOOP is a giant zoetrope.
Did you know that the zoetrope is the ancestor of animation movies?
GOOD TO KNOW!
A zoetrope is an optical toy that was invented in the 19th century. Its mechanism is based on the optical principle of retinal persistence in humans.
A zoetrope creates the illusion of motion from a sequence of still images. Concretely, it is a cylinder with openings at regular intervals on its sides, inside of which is a circular band bearing a cycle of still and sequenced images (for example: snapshots of the movements of a horse running).
Modern replica of a Victorian zoetrope.
When the cylinder spins, you can see the images inside come to life (as if the horse is really running in front of your eyes!) thanks to the retina of your eye that connects each image to the next, giving the illusion of continuity.
To transport yourself to the cinema, two centuries earlier...
You should see an animated story appear, like an old cartoon!
Step 1
Get into a LOOP alone or with a partner, then move the lever (the metal bar) with force and speed!
Step 2
Observe the images when the lever is stationary, then observe the images when the lever is moving. Do you see a difference?
The bandmaster
Did you know that every LOOP is a music box?
Indeed, the creators have made instruments out of them! The sound is controlled by the movements of the lever, and the LOOP itself acts as a soundbox to amplify the music.
GOOD TO KNOW !
A music box is an 18th century invention that uses solely mechanical technology. All you had to do was turn a key or pull a rope and the box would then generate music. Maybe you had a musical jewelry box with a ballerina spinning when you were younger? It's a music box!
Music box from the beginning of the 20th century.
© Antiques de laval
By turning the key, the music box stores mechanical energy to make a cylinder covered with small bumps called pins turn, which, by colliding with the slats of a metal keyboard, will lift them to make them vibrate and create sounds.
With LOOP, you activate the music box by operating the lever.
By activating the lever, you activate the rotation of the LOOP and thus activate the music box. You are in control of the sound accompaniment, just like a bandmaster! In fact, you can influence the speed of the instrument and the tempo of the music with the lever.
Go try your hand at being a conductor!
Step 1
Get into a LOOP alone or with a partner, then move the lever (the metal bar).
Step 2
Notice the difference if you move the lever slowly versus quickly. What sound do you prefer?
Step 3
Ask a friend or stranger to sit in a different LOOP and operate the lever. Have fun creating a symphony together, under your direction as a conductor, of course!
The bandmaster
Did you know that every LOOP is a music box?
Indeed, the creators have made instruments out of them! The sound is controlled by the movements of the lever, and the LOOP itself acts as a soundbox to amplify the music.
GOOD TO KNOW !
A music box is an 18th century invention that uses solely mechanical technology. All you had to do was turn a key or pull a rope and the box would then generate music. Maybe you had a musical jewelry box with a ballerina spinning when you were younger? It's a music box!
Music box from the beginning of the 20th century.
© Antiques de laval
By turning the key, the music box stores mechanical energy to make a cylinder covered with small bumps called pins turn, which, by colliding with the slats of a metal keyboard, will lift them to make them vibrate and create sounds.
With LOOP, you activate the music box by operating the lever.
By activating the lever, you activate the rotation of the LOOP and thus activate the music box. You are in control of the sound accompaniment, just like a bandmaster! In fact, you can influence the speed of the instrument and the tempo of the music with the lever.
Go try your hand at being a conductor!
Step 1
Get into a LOOP alone or with a partner, then move the lever (the metal bar).
Step 2
Notice the difference if you move the lever slowly versus quickly. What sound do you prefer?
Step 3
Ask a friend or stranger to sit in a different LOOP and operate the lever. Have fun creating a symphony together, under your direction as a conductor, of course!