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Final Performance Review

            I would say that the overall feeling I have here at the end of my performance seminar journey is that of happy contentment. I am pleased with both the structure of the class as well as the work that I put into (and then subsequently got out of) it. What I mean to say is that I am also happy with my final performance and I think that what I completed worked well as kind of a first working version, or as a proof of concept for a larger idea that I would like to hopefully create one day.

            In terms of the strengths of my project, it was, for all intents and purposes, exactly how I imagined it to be. It was comprised of a number of large figures that weren’t shaped like anything in particular and allowed people to draw their on conclusions as to what the forms were supposed to be in the context of the performance. I was also able to make them respond to my touch in a way that was more dynamic than just turning them on or off and my input mapped directly to both audio and visual output.

            All that being said, the reason why I refer to my final project as a first working version or proof of concept is because there area lot of things that I think could be done better both with more time and more money. The prime examples being the creation of figures that are more durable than paper maché and copper tape, also more time spent finessing the programming so that each figure had its own, more distinctly unique persona (ie: sound, blinking output, video output). Ask for the performance itself, well that was an experience that was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating.

            I used to perform all of the time; dance competitions, theatre, and bands that I was in, but it has been a long time since then and I can’t say that I contain quite the same level of self confidence at this point in my life. Plus, the ability to get up in front of a large group of people and appear at ease is kind of like a muscle that needs to be continually worked or it will atrophy.  All that being said, I was excited to have the opportunity to try performance again and all in all, I think it went pretty well. In reviewing the footage from the performance, it is clear that I am trying to portray some kind of character and though my acting may be a bit iffy, I was still giving it the good ol’ college try! The fact that I also came off stage feeling happy and exhilarated speaks to my feeling a general sense of accomplishment; a sense that would be lacking had I gotten up there and choked. I will admit though, having people on all four sides of you while performing was a particularly overwhelming experience for me, so much so that I had to make the active decision to not focus on the audience at all but strictly on myself and my crazy noise making figures.

            In looking to the potential future of this project, I really do hope to have the opportunity (read time and funding) to try building it again, only this time sturdier and with more focus on the finer details of the code. Also, being that this project came from and idea that was originally meant to be an interactive installation, I have a very real interest in recreating it in that context and working towards figuring out how inviting others to play with the piece would have to change the interface and other aspects of the programming, the figure construction, and any other hereto unforeseen issues with translating a piece designed for solo performance into a dynamic group play experience. 

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Desperately Seeking Stasis

How do we find balance in the chaos that we've created?

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Questions...

-How do I fine tune the interaction? Is there a better sensor to use? Is there some tutorial I don't know about yet which does a good job of explaining how to fine-tune sensor input with Max/MSP? I know how to do it in Arduino... but how do I tackle this when I am using both Max and Arduino? 

-Should the video a live feed of the audience, images of nature in juxtaposition with made made objects, or just colors?

-How do I synch everything up? I interact with the sensors and:

The sounds the figures are making change

The speed of lights inside the figures blinks faster or slower depending upon my input

The video effects change based on my input

-Should I used Max produced sounds or input nature sounds and have them be filtered/distorted to the point of being just barely recognizable?

-Do I solder all of this crap into a protoboard or just leave things connected via breadboard and hope to god it doesn't fall apart?

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Breakdown of Performance

1st Minute:

0 - 30 seconds: nothing but figures.

30 - 60 seconds: slowly enter the space.

2nd Minute:

0 - 30 seconds: slow realization that I am affecting the figures.

30 - 60 seconds: time spent quizzically interacting with each figure. 

3rd Minute:

0 - 60 seconds: slow build of intensity in interaction. I will effectively be "playing" these "instruments". As the minute goes on I become more careless or haphazard which crescendos in an angry/scared feeling (based on the sounds and the visuals). The sounds and visuals will be cacophonous and the audience should get the feeling that these figures are upset.

4th Minute:

0 - 30 seconds: I stop abruptly and with an exaggerated gesture to express my finally understanding that I am having a negative impact on these figures. Slowly throughout the 30 seconds I begin to interact with them again via light touches or caress, almost as if I am trying to console them.

30 - 60 seconds: I continue soothing the plants though I am also gradually pulling away from them and walking slowly out of the circle.

5th Minute:

0 - 30 seconds: By the beginning of minute 5 I am making the last contact with the figures and then slowly leaving room, occasionally pausing to look back at the figures to ensure that the are continuing to calm down and return to stasis. By the end of the 30 seconds I have totally left the room.

30 - 45 seconds (optional): Though I am out of the room, the lights should remain dim and the music off for approximately 15 seconds so the audience can again observe their resting state and realize that the performance has come full circle. Towards the end of the 15 seconds the lights slowly come up and the music slowly fades in indicating that the performance is over.

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A picture of my Max patch thus far... Not super interesting because most of it isn't mine. I have also begun to create smaller patches- particularly one using jitter that I am hoping to use to have my input with the instruments change the video output- the output being just color? OR maybe the video is a live feed of the audience watching the performance that is color affected, so it's kind of like... they are seeing what the these shapes are seeing? 

Man. Making art can get really weird.

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Here is a video of this strange looking instrument in action. There is a lot of work that still needs to happen, particularly in regards to programming the interaction with the instrument in a better way that doesn't involve me using a flashlight. I did not include a piezo in this first prototype as I didn't like how it needed very direct contact in order to be affected. In other words, I didn't think it would be the best mechanism for playing this instrument(?).

Now that I have wired this thing up with LEDs and photocell, I realized that the photocell isn't that effectual either, though I am hoping that through tweaking the code I could make photocell and maybe even the piezo work better?

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I orginally wrote something fairly long and thoughtful about this- my first attempt at making the form for my final performance... then my Internet crashed and it was lost to the ether forever. Goodbye artthoughtz.

In between my original writing attempt and this one, I had a friend swing by my place do drop something off. This strange looking paper mache totem was in the middle of the room, and my friend greeted us as such:

"Hi Brigid. Why are you making a giant phallus?"

After explaining the project idea, and even giving them a demo of how it works so far, they seemed slightly more on board, but only sightly.

The reason I am recounting all of this for you, is because I am also not so sure of the form now that it is three dimensional and not just a sketch. That being said, I have spent most of my time thus far worrying about how everything was going to look. I am beginning to worry that in doing so, I am neglecting the much trickier parts of this project- ie: the coding, and making the sound/interaction purposeful and meaningful.

These are just the first of a number of photos of the form. In the posts to follow I will include it's innards as well as pictures of this bad boy draped in felt- an attempt to make it look less first grade craft project/more organic.  

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I know when I say that I am building instrument to play, most people think of some kind of melodious and soothing contraption. Is it so bad if I want to be conducting something cacophonous? 

Also, I've been having an issue finding the right kind of atonal nonsense via Max MSP. The science of manipulating sine waves is a little beyond me... especially when translated into a bunch of flonum objects connected to mathematical symbols.

This audio file, this particular atonal crap, is from a physical circuit I built with a number of different micro controllers, capacitors and sensors. The sounds that come from manipulating noisiness with power and resistance instead of equations makes a lot more sense to me. That being said, I'm wondering if I shouldn't hand build another noisy circuit and then find a way to channel the audio it's creating through Max MSP. 

Is that crazy? It might be crazy... but I'm not sure.

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A project I did a few years ago with a friend where we amplified everyday objects and filtered the sound coming through them in an attempt to turn them into instruments. 

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Nature Vs Nurture: Giving Life to Objects Through Interaction

*This is a rough write up in an attempt to try and weave together the different things I want to explore with this project. It is not yet a good representation of what I am trying to express, but it is a start.*

Given the innate biological drive to survive, plants and animals alike will do whatever it takes to continue to thrive. Plants grow towards the sun, animal instincts aid in the longevity of a species, but how does computational technology fit in to this picture, if at all?

Understanding that computers are inorganic, it may seem strange to wonder whether or not computers have a drive to survive.  They have hard drives, they are internal, but they don’t feel, they don’t even think beyond their programmed capabilities.

That being said, given the near sentience of machines, shouldn’t their need for survival be considered as well? Though they are man made, they have processing capabilities far beyond anything else, but once created, do they still need humans to thrive? Do they need to be nurtured like everything else, or if left alone will their logic structures allow them to find their own state of symbiosis? 

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n-chan(n)t by David Rokeby.

This piece by David Rokeby showcases an "ecosystem" of different networked computers existing in the same space. What they hear in the space effects each other. What they do in the space effects each other. If left alone for long enough, they eventually reach a point of stasis, and they all begin chanting in unison.

Though dissimilar from my piece in many ways, I want to try and achieve this same idea of machine stasis in my performance. 

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LESLEY FLANIGAN :: "Amplifications" :: 

Though I want the objects and intention to be different, I love the etherial, almost haunting, feeling of most of Lesley's performances

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rough sketch of the flow of data (inputs and outputs) of my piece.

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Though my idea is on a much smaller scale than playing a whole building, the idea of turning random objects into instruments is inline with the aspirations I have for my performance. 

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Felted Signal Processing is the arts and research project of sisters Sarah and Lara Grant, focused on soft interface design and sensor development.  Lara has a background in costume and textile design and soft sensor development. Sarah has a background in visual arts and creative development. They are both alumnae of NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program.