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On 17th February, we met up with Andrew in the Atrium @ Alison House in order to participate on a workshop focused on honing our live performance skills.
We began by collecting textures around Alison House, using paper and charcoal. You don’t always see the patterns when you walk along the streets, and it was interesting to see and collect them. These visual textures were then used as a starting point for sonic gestures.
[insert other photos of textures]
Then, we were divided into two groups and provided with loop stations, mini projectors, microphones, and other types of audiovisual equipment. With the help of the kitchen and household items we brought along with the locker of pipes, we started creating sounds. With the sounds and textures we collected, a video projected on a surface was supposed to be the result. Only one team succeeded with that.
Doing this workshop helped us explore the possibilities of performing with non-traditional “instruments”. It was a great exercise in making something out of very little. In one group, for example, we paired the grating sound of metallic kitchen utensils with the following visual textures: [need to change these from links to embedded videos/gifs]
We had a group discussion with Jules mainly to discuss: What is a performance? What constitutes a performance? , and What do we showcase?
A performance involves live production/show of work – VJ-ing, controlling multiple computers, and automating and synchronizing visual and audio pieces, is what we understood.
Ideas he shared with us:
Having two videos playing where they blend or fold into one another. These can be created using Jitter or Vizzie.
Use of dance mats for interactions. The audience could trigger a change in audio/ video when they step on them.
Augmenting the performance. Producing video clips with partial sound and adding/ altering more live.
He advised us to build a narrative using collages with sounds and images. We also discussed an idea – moving through land or time– where we could show the effects of pollution using Alice in wonderland as the backdrop.
He encouraged us to collect sounds from nature, and since we are talking about pollution – sounds of crushing bottles, engine sounds, etc.
We will start by developing the narrative and moving forward from there!
At the end of the morning tutorial we had a short meeting to discuss the projections that the tutor had suggested he wanted us to include in each session. At the same time we started to think about the venue and the effect we wanted to achieve with the sound overlay, which may require several attempts later on in the work
We had a quick meeting with Andrew today to check-in on the progress of our project. The main item discussed was that of the performative aspect of our installation. For example, it is an open question as to whether audience interaction counts as a performative act. If we, for example, let the audience ‘choose their experience’ at the beginning of the corridor, are they then performing the installation? In my opinion, the audience would need to be aware of the decisions they are making in order for it to count as a performance. I believe that is one of the main criteria for performance: a decision is being made live that influences what is being seen and/or heard. To be discussed further….!
This post discusses another short meeting we had to discuss the Whats’, Whys’, Wheres’ and Hows’ of our performance.
We decided to focus on what we’ll be presenting first and then let the performance dictate the technology, and go with layers of engagement, as advised by our professor Jules Rawlinson.
Regarding the constituents of our performance, we discussed the possibility of having certain modules that we present to the audience. This could simply mean we show, for instance, eight modules in a linear format. We also had the idea to present the user with questions in a similar formant to Netflix’s Bandersnatch, where the audience’s experience will vary based on the choice they made. This means we create a random set of multiple modules and have them presented in sets of probability. The ideas for the sets are as follows:
1. Presenting characters from Alice in wonderland in a dystopian setting. For example, the dining scene could be set in a an environment of death, decay and pollutants.
3. Cheshire Cat enters and disappears narrating certain events/asking certain questions
4. Show the users harmonising vs disharmonising notes and have them select their path, and have their experience vary based on this choice.
5. The user begins their experience by falling into the rabbit hole. They could end their experience feeling like this was a bad dream they woke up from. i.e, out of the rabbit hole.
Regarding the aesthetic, we decided to go with a fantasy theme rather than showing realistic visuals of global warming. We generated a moodboard with images generated by AI for the 3D modelling style we want to employ.
Regarding the location, we are considering west court, with multiple screen barriers dictating the walking path of the audience. We currently don’t know about the number of audiences we will have at one point in time.
Regarding the technology, we had a few ideas:
1. We could use arduino pressure sensors for the Bandersnatch like decision making aspects of the performance. We are also considering USB dance mats for this feature.
2. We could use AR for showing a dystopian version of a certain element on screen. The users scan a code on the projected object and it shows them the decayed version of it.
3. We could midi boards to show the harmonising sounds
4. Multiple speakers and multiple projectors to show the forward progression of the presentation as the user walks forwards.
We will be discussing and building more in the coming days!
After previous group discussions, we continued the idea of incorporating the concept of the butterfly effect into the art performance installation. However, as we developed the theme further, we found that we needed to use a more specific backstory to guide the audience through the installation, to help them understand how the performance installation would evolve and to encourage them to understand the narrative and emotions that were intended to be expressed.
During this group discussion, we re-established a more specific theme and structure for the art performance installation, and the following are the details of our meeting.
Background
By thinking about the butterfly effect, we can imagine the thought-provoking consequences of a small change. Similarly, in the family, small demands made by a mother on her children can have a profound impact on their lives. We decided to use the film Höstsonaten ( Auntumn Sonata) as a backstory to display the inner world of the main character Eva under the influence of her mother, Charlotte.
NameforPerformance
“Invisible Strings”
Performance Structure
The film’s plot fragments are used as a starting point to frame a three-part performance scene.
The first part is a situational introduction in which a performer sings a live whisper that symbolises her mother’s harsh teaching and verbal violence towards Eva. The particles are projected on the screen in real-time according to the changes in the whispers and finally form a line that leads the participants to the next performance area.
The following section is a performance area with a tangle of black and white strings hung with bells, where a performer dances around the performance area in response to the whispers, and the movement drives the bells on the lines to ring.
The last performer plays the piano in a quadrilateral performance area covered by a translucent curtain, where the piano piece played is Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2, which appears in the film. The piano used for the performance is made of a wire-wrapped iron frame, not a real piano, and will be shown in its true form by removing the translucent curtain at the end of the performance.
The image below is a visual reference of the last performance area.
As the instructions for switching between the three performance areas are to be done by controlling the lighting, we are tentatively planning to arrange the performance in a spacious indoor (dark environment), and the West Court is a more suitable choice, but the decision has yet to be confirmed.
Upcoming work
Having established the parts of the group that each member will be responsible for, we will further search for references (primarily academic literature on technical aspects), draw up user flow and create a mood board according to our division of labour.
One of the four members of the performance group was Xiaozhuang Gao, Crystal Wu and Shutong Liu from design and digital media, and Lerong Qi from sound design. The first group discussion was a continuous collision and divergence of ideas, from one topic to another, with the process of overturning and reconstructing, finally landing on the concept of the “butterfly effect”, which is now described in the minutes of this meeting.
Inspiration 1: Plants
In the first meeting, the topic of plants was discussed – plants themselves are rich in visuals, both in terms of their characteristics and their veins and roots.
Referring to the artist Thijs Biersteker’s art installation using plants as a vehicle, in which he expresses the impact of data pollution on our lives through the effect of carbon dioxide exhaled by the participants on the plants, we wondered whether the internal changes that occur when plants are confronted with performers could be quantified and visualised to create new patterns or new plants, thus reflecting on the relationship between man and nature. The relationship between man and nature. Up to this point, our thinking had been very limited and monotonous, and there was a big gap in terms of technical means and forms.
Although the discussion on the topic of plants was not fully developed, the overall conceptual framework made us think that whether it is the influence of people on plants that develops into a larger social topic in an artwork, or the insignificant inspiration and ideas of each of us that will eventually be updated and iterated into an installation, this phenomenon made us The butterfly effect seems to exist everywhere in the world, it is common, romantic and thought-provoking.
Building on the previous idea, we thought about the possibility of collecting the sound of the performers as a loop when they create a bit of sound, and influencing the media material to change dynamically or visually, collecting its dynamic data and eventually creating a visual effect like a tsunami. Although the subject matter and realizability of the project still needs to be discussed, the group members all expressed their interest in the topic and are willing to continue to develop it, and we will conduct more research to develop our ideas.
Even a beautiful sonata in autumn is permeated by poignancy and sadness – “Invisible Strings” is a performance-interactive art installation inspired by Bergman’s film “Autumn Sonata”, which tells the story of a selfish and controlling mother who makes her daughter incompetent in love. The story of an immature elder who demands and even harasses her youngest to meet her own demands and desires, filling a hole in her own life and heart, feeding off her youngest and preventing her from growing up in a healthy way.
Using this film as a source of inspiration and extraction of elements, it interacts with the installation in the form of a performance, with a visual and aural rendering of the story’s development in layers. The sudden outbursts and struggles are both tortured and introspective, and the impossibility of reconciliation has long been predetermined. This work evokes empathy and connection in the audience and explores at a deeper level the contradictions and gaps between caring and giving that lead to wanton demands. At the same time, it reflects on the construction of relationships between people and the expression of love.
Based on Bergman’s film ‘Autumn Sonata’, which focuses on the relationship between parents and their children, we combine sound and performance to portray the changes in the daughter’s heart in the film as she is bound by her mother’s ‘expectations’. This theme was chosen because the “expectations” and “constraints” that parents bring to their children are often invisible, and the sound installation we have designed, through the three different parts of the sound performance, achieves a layering of sounds, just as the parents’ day-to-day “expectations” continue. The “expectation” is constantly superimposed in the mind of the little girl in the film.
Research
Film
The film serves as the source of inspiration and sound and visual elements as well as conceptual support for the work.
1) Synopsis of the story
Autumn Sonata, an emotional family film directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann, was released in Sweden on 8 October 1978. The film tells the story of Charlotte, a distinguished orchestra piano player, and her daughter Eva, who are in serious conflict due to a chronic lack of emotional contact.
2) Elements from the film
Piano
Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2
3) Movie review
Sonata is a monologue in music. In late autumn in Sweden, a mother and daughter who have not seen each other for seven years are reunited, but instead of a harmonious concerto, they continue to play their own sonata. Solo plus solo, the result is a lonelier, more desperate solo, never superimposed on a tacit interplay, due to the inability to connect their hearts.
–Duxingxiia 6/12/2006
The emotional ebb and flow of Chopin’s music appreciation is a reflection of the human connection to God and the exploration of human nature and limits.
–Qimahenbulan 20/12/2021
Underneath the glossy exterior is a pool of mud that dare not be uncovered and exposed to the sunlight of true feelings.
— Likelight 25/10/2022
Relative News
Based on our research, we believe that the phenomenon of parents putting pressure on their children to make academic and career choices is a common occurrence worldwide. Several social news and child psychological guidance platforms have focused on this topic.
Therefore, we believe it is valuable to explore the theme of family relationships and parental expectations. We hope that this work will show the inner struggle of children under pressure.
This performance installation will only show the struggle, without a specific ending, and hopefully will cause the audience to reflect on the expectations in parent-child relationships.
We have read relevant literature to prove that parents’ excessive rights claims have an indelible negative impact on children
In Baumrind’s opinion(2012), these parents are “demanding” because they set high standards for their kids and then go out of their way to ensure they’re met.
Walker and Associates (Walker, Hennig, & Krettenauer, 2000; Walker & Taylor, 1991) explored parent-child talks of fictitious and actual moral dilemmas within the cognitive domain. Children’s less developed moral reasoning was predicted by parents’ domineering, meddling, negative, conflictual, and sarcastic behaviour.（Kochanska, G., Aksan, N., & Nichols, K. E. (2003）
Reference:
Grolnick, W. S. (2012). The relations among parental power assertion, control, and structure. Human Development, 55(2), 57-64.
Kochanska, G., Aksan, N., & Nichols, K. E. (2003). Maternal power assertion in discipline and moral discourse contexts: commonalities, differences, and implications for children’s moral conduct and cognition. Developmental Psychology, 39(6), 949.
Technology
At the technical level we will mainly involve sound visualization software
2) Processing Particle System
We can also find instructions on how to use the particle system on Processing’s case website. We will implement particle interaction based on these instructions. Reference:https://processing.org/examples/multipleparticlesystems.html
Using different material mediums, through interaction, lighting and visuals in a dark and gloomy environment, we express a kind of human relationship from conflict to struggle and finally explosion.
Our entire sound performance was based on the film, with three separate parts of the sound performance designed from the perspective of the little girl in the movie. In the first part, a sound performer will open the whole sound installation by chanting, representing the role of the mother in the film, and the sound represents the parents’ complaints, spurs, etc. The sound is then transformed into a code and then output into an image, which consists of particles. The first part of the performance is over.
At the beginning of the second part of the performance, there are controllable lights that come on immediately after the end of the first part of the performance. The performer is trapped in a large installation of thin wires with bells and keys hanging from them. When the performer struggles, the bells are triggered to make a sound and the sound is recorded, and when the keys are triggered a sonata note is emitted with the chanting sound of the first part superimposed on the third part.
After the third part, Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 will be played. The performer plays the piano in an installation made of four white curtains. As the sound is superimposed from the first part to the climax of the third part, the curtains are pulled down to reveal that the performer is playing a fake piano made of wire, and the light and music end abruptly, ending the performance.
Group Member Assignment
Creative & Technology Support
Xiaozhuang Gao & Crystal Wu
As part of the creative concept of the Invisible Strings project involves real-time sound visualisation.
In Crystal’s and Xiaozhuang’s past personal experience, they have learned to program software such as Processing and Arduino. So they will be responsible for the sound visualisation part of the project, and ensure a better presentation of the theme of the help installation.
In the first part of the sound performance, the vocalist has to translate the sound into parameters to create a moving image by chanting, a process that involves the programming of software such as Processing and Arduino.
Sound design
Lerong Qi
The sound of this performance installation has three stages, the first of which is the real-time capture of the performer’s singing, the second of which is the sound of piano notes and bells emanating from the performer’s touch of the keys on the strings, which are layered with the looping singing sounds generated in the previous stage to form the entire soundscape, and the third of which returns to the piano piece Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 played by Eva in the film Autumn Sonata.
The initial chant is recorded in real-time and is looped into the trigger-generated sound effects during the second stage of the performance. In the second stage, the piano melody triggered by the performer’s movements samples the beginning notes from the final performance of the sonata, and this randomly sounding piano melody is recreated by the sound designer to achieve the effect of articulating the entire subsequent sonata.
Multiple microphones in the first two performance areas (chanters use a stand-up microphone, and the second performance area is set up with stereo set microphones for bells).
Audio playback relies on multiple speakers, initially using surround sound playback.
Audio workstations to record live sound, implement a live loop and synchronise with lighting visuals.
Visual Design
Shutong Liu
The visual effect of the installation plays a key role in expressing and conveying emotions. Shutong Liu will use PS, AI, AE and other software to make full use of the relevant display media to carry out the visual design of the installation, including but not limited to the creative design and execution of the interactive colours, animation effects and graphic design content in the installation, using the installation as a carrier to control the appearance of the art, to achieve visual and layout consistency, conveying the ambient spiritual world that the design concept is intended to convey.
Future expectations
Feb 14 Plan Submission
Feb 15-Feb 28 Design Iteration
The team will review the existing design during this period to determine the details and logic of the design. The design will be supplemented with possible shortcomings so that the audience can have a more complete and perfect experience during the installation.
Mar 1-Mar 14 Arduino & Processing Design
We will design and implement the technical and visual design of the Processing and Arduino sensor part based on the design concept as of March 1. We will also refine the design with feedback from Submission 1 and each catch-up to ensure that the final design will be completed on schedule.
We will also complete the design of some of the visual installations during this period.
Preliminary completion of the sound design in the installation.
Mar 15-Mar 29 Design Integration
Complete all visual installation design and sound design.
Integrate the design of each part and debug the sensors and interaction effects.
Complete the set-up for the final week of internal display.
During our very first meetings as a group, we all became very inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (AIW). Initially, we thought of re-creating a scene from this story in an immersive format. After Mengru joined our group, however, we decided to weld her idea of doing something related to the effects of climate change to our AIW idea.
As it stands now, we are planning on creating an audiovisual installation in which attendees experience the effects of climate change – in particular that of pollution – while still using AIW as an aesthetic and conceptual reference.
Basically, each attendee will enter a corridor, and as they make their way through it, the environment around them will begin to decay.
The beginning of the corridor will immerse the attendees in a tranquil, natural scene, e.g. an open field with the sounds of birds and insects. This will be expressed through projected visuals along the walls and loudspeakers scattered throughout the area. Then, gradually, pollution will infect the scene: visually (through 3d models of pollution superimposed on the visuals) and sonically (through the natural sounds being replaced by sounds of clanking garbage). These visual and sonic modulations will be triggered by the attendees (through Arduino sensors etc.) and performed live by members of our group (through MIDI controllers etc.)
We intend for attendees to leave the exhibition with all feelings of zest and vibrancy having been depleted.
motivations
Climate change is something that affects the entire planet, and since the members of our group span 3 distinct regions of the world (USA, India, and China), this is a topic to which we can all relate.
It is also a topic for which there exists a plethora of scientific data, which we can use to inform our creative choices (and, in the case of data sonification, precisely dictate them).
Our ideal location would be the West Court room at ECA, because it has plenty of space and can feasibly be blacked out. Within this room, our plan would be to construct a standalone hallway for the attendees to move through.
The above image shows a few ways in which the standalone hallway can be positioned. This could change based on what and how we want to display our performance. The main idea was to have the attendees enter through one door and exit through another.
Working Title
“Save me, Destroy me” is inspired by the notes in Alice in Wonderland which are attached to the drinks or cakes. These cakes and drinks are meant to make Alice shrink or grow, while the choices made by human being, or the attendees in this case, would make a difference to the environment as well.
Project Form
During the performance, the attendees would enter an Alice in Wasteland. They would be provided with Yes-or-No questions, and their choice would make a difference to the projected environment. Due to the influence level of their choices, the member of the group would perform differently through sound and visual, while all the difference will layer together instead of vanishing.
Audio
Recording:
Since the pollution could be one of the large problems that threaten the climate changing, the sound designers plan to do some recordings with wastes like plastic, metal, etc. As for the liquid pollution like oil, it is possible to use devices like playtronica to collect the sound as a sample. The recordings would be sent into samplers to produce a full range of notes, or become an effector for guitar or bass through coding or embedded programming.
Composition:
Due to the character of chords, we decided to perform major chords if the attendees make a “good choice”, while minor, inharmonic chords, or even noises for a “bad choice”. Since the question might lead to different kinds of pollution or impacts, the tune of the music will be sampled from the waste we use as mentioned above. As the attendee keeping going on the questions, the former sounds will maintain and the new sound will become another layer to join the whole composition.
Tech:
~6 loudspeakers on stands throughout the hallway (Genelecs rented from ECA Music Store)
Max/MSP for generating and manipulating sound. This software can communicate with Arduino boards if we choose to use them. It also has the advantage of Jitter, which could be used to generate some of the visuals. It would be streamlined to have the sound and visuals being manipulated from the same piece of software.
Ableton Live for additional sound generation and manipulation.
MIDI keyboards and/or controllers for live sound manipulation. For example, the Akai MPD 24 that can be rented from the ECA Music Store:
Analog instruments, e.g. Mengru plays bass, so she could definitely use that (combined with fx pedals) to add to the soundscape.
If desired, there can be a few points at which attendees can walk up and put on a pair of headphones, if for example we have a localized and specific sonic experience that we wish to impart.
Visual
Environment:We’re asking ourselves what Alice in Wonderland truly is. Lewis Caroll spent years learning the way children’s minds functioned, and the innocence and imaginative freedom they possessed. We hope to create a similar peculiar and imaginative style in our audiovisual projections of pollution.
Tech:
Arduino pressure sensors/USB dance mats based on availability: We can use this for the decision making parts of our game, where stepping onto the pressure sensor will trigger a question thus altering the audience’s experience.
Adobe creative cloud and Maya: For creating motion graphics, illustrations and 3D models.
Moodboard:
We hope to use the visual style of the flowers and the lighting style similar to these images. The moodboard serves as a visual aid for the nature projections, and a representation of our hallway based projection
Dismaland | 2015 | Banksy | Weston-super-Mare, England
This was an art installation that expressed various forms of environmental and societal decay. The feeling of dread imparted on attendees is something we are going for as well. photo source
Sounding Climate | 2019 | National Center for Atmospheric Research | Colorado, USA
This was an exhibit that expressed some of the processes of climate change through sound. It is a solid reference for how to sonify this kind of data.
Light Green Leaves with Light | 2013-2014 | Kyunggi Creation Center, Ansansi, Gyunggido
This exhibit creates a 3D projection using thin screens, using 3 blueray players, 3 6000ansi projectors, and 16 sets of screens. It’s an interesting alternative to holographic projections if we decide to use them for the central part of our performance.
Ocean Vortices | 2017 | Teamlabs | National gallery of Victoria
This is an interactive exhibit where movement and velocity causes changes in the visuals.
Immersive Kelaidoscope | 2015 | Kiplings | London Sutton Walk, South Bank
This exhibit is of a kaleidoscope where people become part of the kaleidoscopic visuals being created. We could possibly do the same with a webcam and interlace it with fractals of garbage and garbage beings.
open questions
These are important questions that we are still mulling over as a group.
What is the message we want to impart on attendees? Is our installation accusatory in the sense that we want attendees to feel blamed for the effects of climate change? Since that topic is not so straightforward, perhaps we should just raise awareness about these issues instead.
What type of pollution should we target? Options include plastic, metal, greenhouse gases, and more. An obvious consideration here is which type of material lends itself to sonic and/or visual performance. Metal, for example, is generally much more resonant than plastic and therefore would be easier to incorporate into a soundtrack.
Are we the only performers, are the audience performing, or is it some combination thereof?
Should we prompt the attendees at the beginning of the corridor with some kind of question that dictates their experience? E.g. how much pollution do they want to see affecting the environment. Are the attendees then ‘performing’ part of the installation?
reference list
Aesthetic References
Burton, T. (2010).,Alice in Wonderland, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Andrew, Stanton et al., WALL-E. Burbank, Calif., Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2008.
VanGoghAlive(2022)., [Exhibition], Festival Square, Edinburgh., 17th Marth 2022 – 17th July 2022., Available at: https://vangoghaliveuk.com/edinburgh/
Garbage-punk:
Climate Change References
DACA
This is an organization that curates works of art built on climate change data.
By now, we have pretty much committed to the idea of an immersive installation displaying the effects of climate change on our environment……..while still using Alice in Wonderland (AIW) as a point of reference for visual and experiential concepts.
We had another meeting with Andrew today, and by this point, here is what we are grappling with:
using (borrowing) the narrative arc of AIW as a way to establish a trajectory for the attendees’ experiences
this would be a way to have some kind of firm structure (plot) to reference when shaping the experience of our attendees. An obvious first example could be referencing Alice’s descent down the rabbit hole when constructing the entrance to our installation.
Andrew brought up this concept during our meeting. It refers to the segment of history that began once humans began to have serious effects on the world’s climate. It is a way of distinguishing and making clear our role as humans in climate change. As a group, we want our installation to remind people / demonstrate to them the role they have in climate change, so this is definitely a concept worth looking into.
decay vs chaos
this is a distinction I thought of at some point during our discussion. Do we want to demonstrate the environment decaying slowly into a bleak wasteland, or do we want to demonstrate the environment spinning into unlivable chaos? Perhaps we should let science inform the decision here (i.e. find out which scenario is a more accurate prediction).
deciding on a space (e.g. West Court)
We should decide on a location for the installation soon, that way we can began making specific plans for the setup.
what technology will be used?
Possible technology includes:
Video
projectors (mini and/or normal-sized)
Sound
Arduino-powered sensors, e.g. pressure, proximity
loudspeakers (Genelecs rented from ECA)
Other
iPad for touchscreen interaction
MIDI controllers for sound and/or video manipulation
name for project
“Alice in Wasteland”
performative aspect
We need to iron out how the attendees (or us) will perform as part of the installation. Part of this could be accomplished by live manipulation of the video and/or sound.
Using different material mediums, through interaction, lighting and visuals in a dark and gloomy environment, we express a kind of human relationship from conflict to struggle and finally explosion.
