Circadian Capital

Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl, Circadian Capital, interactive sound installation, 2 x 4 ft, 2007. (© Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl)

Circadian Capital is an interactive sound installation that sonifies and visualizes real-time currency exchange-rate data via Max/MSP, Processing and Tuio. It presents a musical composition based on the daily trading values of 24 currencies, 12 of them the currencies of Western countries and the other 12, Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries. The latter countries are loosely based on the concept of the "Axis of Evil" referred to by G.W. Bush and John Bolton in 2002; Western currencies are generally those prominent in the Iraqi “war alliance” of 2003. Thus are signified two ends of a sharply divided philosophical spectrum.

The project highlights the political interdependence of all currencies by employing their value in relation to the U.S. dollar---the world’s most traded currency, which signifies a common base denominator of contemporary economics and politics. The U.S.A. is the last surviving world power and crudely tries to meddle in any and all aspects of present-day international socioeconomic affairs.

Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Web: www.benitezvogl.com

Updated 27 January 2010