The Sonified Textiles within the Text(il)ura Performance: Cross-cultural Tangible Interfaces as Phenomenological Artifacts
(2022)
author(s): Paola Torres Núñez del Prado
published in: VIS - Nordic Journal for Artistic Research
This research is working with Sonified Textile Controllers. They can be described as textile sensor-based tangible interfaces. Some of them are part of a disruptive sound performance – an experimental sound art concert that has been presented in various cities in Europe and the Americas called "Text(il)ura"[1]. The three fiber-based controllers presented as part of this performance, The Shipibo Conibo-Style Textile, The Hanap Pacha Quipu, and the Unkuña of Noise, all reference the cultures of Paola Torres Nunez del Prado’s country of origin, Perú. These textile artifacts are works of art as well as devices that fall within the scope of smart textiles and that of human-computer interaction, as they allow the user to experiment with alternative ways of approaching the execution of sound art or electronic music. Referring to both aesthetically and symbolically distinct forms of expression from diverse human communities, these cross-cultural devices are characteristically hybrid and ever-changing: history, myth, craft and technology, gender, transhumanism, sound, visuals and tactility – everything is intertwined in an amalgamation of human knowledges and experiences aiming for a type of universality that does not impose one thought system over the other. The design of the interfaces proposes a different approach to tactile manipulation of electronic sound instruments, where it is common to find controllers made of metal or plastic, and where the aural and tactile sensitivity with which they are first made, transforms the performance itself. The Sonified Textiles aim to redefine musical interfaces, both conceptually and design-wise within the e-textile realm. The research uses a phenomenological framework to go beyond the mind-body dualism and to reconnect with the natural world.
Monsters I Love: On Multivocal Arts
(2019)
author(s): Alex Nowitz
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
Proposing a ‘multivocal practice’ in the vocal arts, this exposition (documented artistic research project) embodies an inclusive approach to four core categories for the contemporary performance voice: the singing, speaking, extended and disembodied voice. The culmination of a four-year PhD project in Artistic Practices (Performative and Mediated Practices, with specialisations in choreography/film and media/opera /performing arts), it documents artistic research sub-projects through the presentation of multimedia material, interweaving performance recordings with reflective and contextualising texts. Multivocality addresses various models of virtuosity, all of which are informed by a multi-faceted artistic knowledge, whether experimental or experiential, technical or technological, improvisational or compositional. Contemporary vocal performance practices are loaded by questions pertaining to detecting and solving technical issues that span the vocal domains. Through a range of artistic practices—vocal, oral, bodily and technology-related—the research project unfolds what is conceived as a bountiful ‘vocal imaginary’. When voice and body meet technology-related practices that aim at the expansion of the vocal realm by using custom and gesture-controlled live electronics, a performance æsthetics of the in-between emerges. This is explored via the ‘strophonion’, formerly built at STEIM in Amsterdam and, during the course of the PhD, further developed by Berlin-based software programmer Sukandar Kartadinata who created an intricate configuration on the basis of the audio processing application Max/MSP. Through the formulation and performance of ‘The Manifesto for the Multivocal Voice’—a ‘discursive solo performance act’ that aims to provide insights into principles and premises, and to develop the discourse on the politics of today’s performance voice—the exposition attempts to establish a potential theoretical and philosophical grounding for multivocality. Its second major concern relates to the poetics of the voice, investigating the thresholds of highly individualised vocal practices by asking: what are the boundaries of the contemporary performance voice? The exposition (on the Research Catalogue) comprises video and audio documentation of public live performances, lectures and artists’ talks as well as studio productions and rehearsals. The user is invited to study scores and various texts, such as poems, extended programme notes, translations, performance instructions, comments and other reflections. The collection of essays and articles that guide the user through the edifice of ideas that the artistic research project has unveiled remains central to the endeavour.
A taste of big data on the global dinner table
(2015)
author(s): Markéta Dolejšová
published in: Journal for Artistic Research
This exposition discusses artistic appropriations of issues related to the contemporary global food agenda and the possible impact of these interventions on the public’s food-related mindset. It begins with an overview of some of the most pressing concerns about the current state of global food production and continues by discussing how these concerns are affected by social networking technologies and online collaborations. Social initiatives and food activists, as well as artists and designers, have become interested in communal bottom-up efforts to refine the global flow of food commodities. The second chapter of this exposition discusses recent examples of contemporary food art/design works. Beside a theoretical overview, the author presents her own food art/design project ‘HotKarot & OpenSauce’ and offers an insight into the field from the perspective of a researcher-as-practitioner. The exposition aims to raise important questions about the potential of participatory art/design initiatives and critically address current global food issues, hence supporting consumers’ general awareness of what ends up on their plates, how it gets there, and under what circumstances.
Misuse as Creation in Electronic Music - A History and Practical Suggestion
(last edited: 2022)
author(s): August Norborg
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
In this thesis the author explores the term ”misuse” as a methodology of composition, but also proposes to view it as an informal tradition within the history of electronic music. The author explores the possible definitions of the term ”misuse”, proposing to view it as an inherently destabilizing practice, where the practitioner must reject the defining of a strict identity. The author also highlights the shift away from mastery of technology to a more equal, exploratory relationship that occurs within the practice, as well as its ability to chart the materiality of said practice. The author proposes that this tradition re-occurs historically as both a technical, aesthetic and philosophical phenomenon, serving as a progressive force within the wider genre of electronic music and often as part of a consciously rebellious practice. The author explores how this methodology can be applied within their own contemporary compositional practice using the software Ableton Live, chronicling their own explorations of generating sound via different misuses of the software, including sound examples. Finally, the author evaluates the applicability of this method on their own artistic practice through 2 attached compositions, and gives testimony to their experience and insights working with the material.
Plant friend
(last edited: 2020)
author(s): Elisabeth Haaland Sund, Elen Haksø, Kari Bjerke Gjærde, Vivian Thonstad Moe
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
A plant pet, a plant friend. Ambient technology, present for company.
The concept promotes interaction and physical activity through responsive expressions on the digital MicroBit display.
Every plant have their own individual characteristics. Some of them are shy and some will be more expressive. Select your favourite type, with your preferred plant personality. You will have to give it a name and take care of it in your home, office space, in your living room or wherever it’s suitable. The plant is a “robot”, with a display screen. Here you can read the plant’s “feelings” with it’s expressive face. You will notice when it’s thirsty, needs nutrition or when it expresses its need for attention. In return you will have a good companion, always ready for interaction.
This is an open source project encouraging people to make it themselves. A concept tailored for interaction between people in isolation or distance relationships.