overload

(full size)

Some of the sounds produced by the plate when pushed to its limits can be very interesting -- but having an exhibit that makes raucous scratching noises continuously can be irritating. To address this tension, the exhibit resets itself if it happens to be playing very loud sound for two seconds without any user interaction.

(Sometimes gallery patrons did not realize this and turned down the speakers -- in future shows, any external volume knob will need to be disabled.)