[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIhUwe7sUPo&eurl=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/symphony-of-54-shoes&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

It isn’t that hard to imagine music coming from shoes, but there is usually a person wearing the shoes and using the shoes to make the music. Still an innovative person, Ingrid Bachmann, created the Symphony For 54 Shoes out of 27 pairs of recycled shoes.

Symphony For 54 Shoes is a kinetic artwork. Each shoe moves independently of each other with the use of solenoids (tubular magnetic sensors). Solenoids move up and down when activated by a switch and “Each switch, 52 in total, is controlled by a microcontroller and software that activates the sequence of the tapping of the shoes.
The 27 pairs of shoes have been collected from second hand stores and thrift stores. The toe and the heel of the shoe have tap dance plates (used for tap dancing) attached to them.

What is the purpose to this Symphony For 54 Shoes? Is it to create new eco-friendly music for your ears? Is it to raise recycling awareness and keep shoes from the landfill? Not really. In the artist’s own words “This project continues my exploration of non-screen based computer technology to create works that interact with, confront and/or incorporate the physical world.” What do you think of her art?

Via InventorSpot