rhythm assemblage: palm in wind (xy) (2025)
kinetic installation
stepper motors, disk cams, fluted metal sheets, wooden base, custom hardware, custom software.
Motion sensors captured the gentle sway of a palm tree at the top of the Laveta Terrace Stairs on September 20, 2025. The horizontal and vertical movements were translated into paired rotating disks that turn in sync, evoking the quiet oscillation of wind through the built and natural landscape.
In this work, Stein's gesture moves away from conventional sensor tracking toward a more performative act, an embodied translation rather than a detached recording.
The joystick element invites a reciprocal motion, echoing the act of watching and responding to the palm tree's movement, transforming observation into participation.
When viewed together with Selected Los Angeles Stairways, the disks form a rhythmic and melodic continuum: the stairways index human motion through the city, while the palm tree registers the city's natural rhythms, both composing an ensemble of move-ment, place, and sound.
Photo: Isik Kaya.