TITLE: Dialectric: The Space Between Us
MATERIALS: Theremin made with hand woven wire coils and electronics
DIMENSIONS: 18" x 18" x 12"
DATE: 2002

DESCRIPTION
Dialectric: The Space Between Us is a Theremin, which is an electronic musical instrument invented in 1929, designed to be played without touching. This variation of the instrument does away with the instrument's traditional antennas in favor of allowing the viewer to interact directly with the coils which are the heart of the system. But these particular coils are not off-the-shelf electronics, they're handwoven. This father-daughter artist team is exploring cultural attitudes toward technology, the physical relationship of the individual to technology, and their own relationship in their Dialectric series.

BIO
I am a weaver studying electronics for the last few years. My father, Lawrence MacCary, is a sculptor and a longtime electronics experimenter, whose interests span a wide spectrum of electrical and electronic subjects. His projects are mostly electro-mechanical, some electro-magnetic, and others are both solid-state and "hollow-state" based adventures.

I am interested in the idea of weaving as a ubiquitous but little-noticed technology, unvalued while still essential to human survival. Electronics is another technology that is becoming so omnipresent and so integrated with our lives that we will soon cease to notice it. However, electronics is sure to cross the boundary of our skin, and enter our bodies. Its fields already do.

It is this intimate interface between people and technology that I'm examining in this series of works. Each piece in the series consists of an electronic component woven of conductive or resistive materials cast-off by industry, and a circuit designed around it. By interacting with the weaving the viewer physically enters the circuit, and the circuit passes through the viewer, blurring the boundary between them.

The title of the series, Dialectric, is taken from the words dialectic, meaning the juxtaposition or interaction of two conflicting ideas or forces, and dielectric, an insulating substance or one in which an electric field can be maintained with a minimum loss of power. I see these as metaphors for the participants in an interaction, and the space between them.

This series is also an opportunity to collaborate with my father, and I see the works as metaphors for aspects of our relationship, and relationships in general.

CONTACT
Laura MacCary
Seattle, WA
http://www.maccary.com