Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh - Sound House

Sound House (everyone is working)

a durational installation consisted of live video mixing, puppetry and interactive sound system

Presented by Automata Arts
Created by Janie Geiser, John Eagle and Cassia Streb
Video Projection Design by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh
Video Content by Janie Geiser and Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh

Wende Museum, Los Angeles, 2022
UCI-Experimental Media Performance Lab (xMPL), Irvin, 2022
Music for Your Inbox (Streaming Platform), Sound House Film, 2023
LAX- Live Arts Exchange Festival, Los Angeles, 2016

Sound House centers on a series of tasks that shape the sound in the room. These tasks–performed by the ensemble manipulating objects, controllers, lights, walls, Bunraku-like puppets, live-feed video–emerge from our interest in the daily routines of the Minuteman Missile technicians, who work in hidden underground launch facilities operated by the US military since the 1960’s.

In Sound House, the video is part of the narratives which shapes the environment. Live-mixed projection amplifies tasks and provides visual hinds for the audiences.

▸ The Missile Control Room

After a field trip to Titan Missile Museum, I was inspired by the underground missile control room. Working closely with the director and set builder, we tried to re-created different small scale launching stations that allows puppets to interact and suggests the world we are in. My goal is to create an environment where all modes of operation are visible and networked in expansive ways, heightening interactivity among puppets, performers, sound and video.

Puppet inspects video booth

Puppet inspects sound booth with shadow play

Space overview- security cameras

Puppet going through slide documents

Puppet inspects video booth

Space overview- station collages

Puppet working on control station

Different control stations

▸ Tasking through Live Cam Feedback

In Sound House, the space is activated by a series of tasks. They are practical works around different stations, performing by puppets and performers, such as bricklaying, coding, shaping walls, inspecting space and writing notes. One of the station is video live streaming, in which the performer and I created several tasks through out the show. The simplified tasks were inspired by the duties of missile technicians, including: writing codes, inspecting maps and diagrams, folding rocket origami, scanning documents and more.