Revive is based on ‘Dynamic Intersection’, which provides very fast moving objects. The source includes some more scenes. This physics engine works with penetration detection of any object. If a penetration (intersection) is detected the simulation will run backwards and forwards in frame-time, untill a accurate collision time is found. After that, the last detected collision is resolved.
Check out this physics-led use of flash
The Colour Out of Space Event was a 3 day extravaganza of experimental Sound and Art where I had to check my usual listening habits at the door and open my mind to a whole new set of aural experiences. From the serene and sublime to the unnerving assault to the ears, Colour Out of Space supplied a non-stop line-up of some of the most cutting edge sound artists along with big names who have established themselves over decades of sound experimentation. Whilst I am still trying to compute the information (there is a backlog) I will give a brief summary of my highlights…
Morphogenesis was the first act I saw – a gentle and soothing introduction to what was to come. The group manipulated a hypnotic soundscape using found objects along with traditional instruments. One of the most interesting aspects was discovering the sound of material against material – violin bow on glass vase – wire in can of coke! With a table full of bits and pieces, real and impromptu instruments the sound would build into a harmony of electronic yet at the same time familiar and tactile arrangement.
Groundbreaking Composer Trevor Wishart performed an uplifting improvised voice piece without the use of technology (except the microphone) which explored the limits of human language and vocal expression. His second arrangement (entirely electronic) ‘Globalalia’ explored the ‘dance’ of human speech using 26 different languages, constructed and decontsructed in waves of distorted speech. Wishart has been experimenting with sound since the 1970′s and is a well documented name in the British sound art world.
Tomutonttu (which loosely translates as ‘dust gnome’) is Jan Anderzen – a key figure on Finland’s creative underground scene. His work uses the talents of a musical collective and reworks traditional Finnish folk idioms in a contemporary technology driven arrangement. Instantly more accessible to my senses due to the rhythmic elements, I enjoyed Anderzen’s performance – the use of effects, cassette and home wired electronic gizmos – to produce Scandinavian folk for the modern world.
Audrey Chen tours worldwide with her moving experimental cello and vocal performance. Using a combination of electronic layering, traditional musicianship and an incredibly versatile vocal range Chen moved the crowd with a deeply emotional piece. Starting with the rattle from a chopstick jammed between the cello strings, her sometimes crackling, sometimes beautifully haunting voice built to a emotional climax which left her (along with the listeners) visibly drained. In such close proximity, this was a powerful sound experience.
Most relevant to my own musical sensibility was Joseph Hammer, an influential artist in the LA sound-art scene for more than twenty-five years. Drawing on the complexities of playing, listening, memory and time, his sample based piece used a vintage reel tape player to manipulate handmade loops controlled manually into a complex ‘phonomontage’. The resulting audio clearly highlighted and explored his influences from AM radio stations, American popular culture and a love of vintage equipment and samples. Accessible in it’s output, there is a clear correlation to the urban US contemporary music scene.
Listen to my experimental sound piece inspired by the event…
The piece contains 2 samples from Tsui Hark’s Film ‘Once Upon A Time In China’, along with elements of feedback and distorted clicks created by the interference between Mac and internet dongle (Now I have a use for the damn thing)! Click Below
Sound Experiment
Ergin Cavusoglu works with Video and Sound Installation to represent environments of public and private domain. Using multiple screens arranged in specific layout within the gallery space he explores the concepts of public and private domains and the interaction of people who dwell within hubs of activity inside the city. Cavusoglu’s foremost interest is the sense of place and the borders which separate the structural and social elements of the modern urban environment. He explores the subjects of travel, departure, arrival, mobility and rhythm, migration and the surveillance of the places where this happens. His work visualises people about their everyday lives – their sense of place in the world and the physical structure of place itself.
Born in Bulgaria in 1968 and beginning his art education in Sofia he emigrated to Turkey where he completed a BA in Painting before moving to the UK completing an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College. This must of course go someway to influencing the subject matter of his work and his fascination with places and the movement between them.
Point of Departure 2006
This video installation consisted of 5 vertical screens and another projection on the floor. The film produced with actors working within two airports (in Turkey and UK) begins with an empty set, the panning shots of unmanned equipment, the departure lounge and security stations and the viewer watches as the airports become inhabited. The film follows a narrative – the journey of three characters whose paths cross but with a looseness which does not explain their story. It seems to have a more voyeuristic feel where the viewer can watch their expressions and imagine what is going through their minds. One screen constantly looks from a birds eye view, much in the way CCTV cameras watch over people in areas of high security. Another film is projected on to the floor which shows the luggage as it passes through the X-Ray machine, scrutinised by the security workers on the screen above. As with the airport itself, the bags begin empty and gradually fill as the film progresses. The construction of the space is of great importance, enclosing the viewer and enabling them to see the smaller details of the character’s experience, allowing the narrative of the story to be completed within the imagination.
Quintet Without Borders 2007
Cavusoglu explores the idea of migration and has a particular interest in the Romany people who carry their traditions from place to place. For the piece Quintet Without Borders, his original idea was to offer five musicians from a traditional Romany group a trip to anywhere in the world they would like to go. Due to the potentially huge cost, he decided to scale this down to a 300 mile radius. From each of the musicians locations he would film and record the sound of their part of a traditional folk song. Each musician would play their part from memory, without being able to hear the other band member’s instruments and the resulting videos played on 5 separate screens, arranged in the format of a band where the individual tracks would come together to complete the song. Apart from straying a little out of sync near the start, the timing of the musicians becomes a perfect, emotional rendition… visually stunning and musically inspiring. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects remains that every band member chose to return to his home, to somewhere of special significance to his memory – by the sea at the local jetty, in a room of his childhood house.