Octet
äk-ˈtet. : a piece of music written for eight voices or eight instruments
Octet is an installation by Marcel Schwittlick that features 8 vintage HP plotters.
During the installation's opening hours, Marcel created 60 drawings using the plotter machines while
controlling them live via high definition midi controllers and real-time generative software input.
![](../img/octet/install_04 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/M.S.-OCTET-088 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/M.S.-OCTET-145 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/M.S.-OCTET-241 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/install_05 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/install_02 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/M.S.-OCTET-122 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/M.S.-OCTET-187 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/1st_rehearsal_6 (Custom).jpg)
1st Rehearsal
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/2nd_rehearsal_6 (Custom).jpg)
2nd Rehearsal
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/3rd_rehearsal_8 (Custom).jpg)
3rd Rehearsal
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/final_rehearsal_8 (Custom).jpg)
Final Rehearsal
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_daytime_8 (Custom).jpg)
Saturday Daytime
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/saturday_night_8 (Custom).jpg)
Saturday Night Performance
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_daytime_8 (Custom).jpg)
Sunday Daytime
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_1 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_2 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_3 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_4 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_5 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_6 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_7 (Custom).jpg)
![](../img/octet/sunday_artist_talk_8 (Custom).jpg)
Sunday Artist Talk
click for high-res
The drawings were created using three main algorithms. The first algorithm uses previously recorded mouse and cursor movements. The second algorithm was a chatgpt-generated line-generation algorithm written in python to simulate organic/human motion. (Essentially, an algorithm to simulate the movement of a cursor traveling over the screen while the computer was being used for other tasks.) The third algorithm was real-time cursor input, where all the machines simultaneously followed the artist's cursor on their respective piece of paper.
Vector Variations pitch: VECTOR VARIATIONS 2024.pdf
Photo and video by Joseph Devitt Tremblay
This project was realized with the kind support of despace Berlin / Petra Podobnik