DisOrgan

Logo for an artistic social project for people with disabilities

DisOrgan is a distance-censored, midi-based organ which helps us hear disability differently. It will be unveiled at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum of Contemporary Art on June 3rd as well as have an online component. DisOrgan consists of several theremin-like pipes that anyone can play by hovering their hands up and down over the pipes. The music generated by the pipes was sampled from everyday objects that have their origin in disability (bendy straws, Edison light bulbs, typewriters, iPhone's touchscreens, the eye-gaze tracking system in the Canon 5D etc.) as well as from the voices of people who share disability diagnoses. The DisOrgan pipes will be about 3-4 feet tall, made from PVC with flue mouth's to resemble traditional pipes. Each pipe will be decorated with a collage of original work from various artists with disabilities. It will be installed on the 3rd floor of the Museum next to Mark Bradford's Pickett's Charge (a photo of the space will be attached below). The goal of the project is to "bring forward the human and material contributions that disability offers to the self and the world."