Aggregat: A Kinetic Multichannel Sound Installation

Guest Speaker: Jan Schacher and Daniel Bisig, Zurich University of the Arts Artists Date: October 8th, 2015 Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm Location: gallery@calit2, Atkinson Hall, UC San Diego Host: gallery@calit2

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT: The exhibition Aggregat is a kinetic, multichannel sound installation featuring works by sound artists and musicians Jan Schacher, Daniel Bisig, Tobias Gerber, Marcus Maeder, Philippe Kocher, and Medusa Cramer. The artists are all active in the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) of Switzerland's Zurich University of the Arts. The event starts on Thursday, October 8 at 5pm in the Calit2 Auditorium in Atkinson Hall., followed by a reception and gallery opening at 6pm. The show is open Monday-Friday, 11am - 5pm, through December 4, 2015. The central concepts explored in Aggregat are the notion of sound and movement in body-object relationships and concrete materiality. The sound-works in the installation cover thematic approaches such as 'choreography' of sound and movement, social and group behaviours, synchronization of media and senses, spatiality in real space, and figure-ground relationships between physical and sound movement. The micro-society represented by the speaker setup reflects the multi-perspective nature of the artist group engaged in this joint installation. An important specificity of the collection of works present in the installation lies in the overlap of disciplines, methods, points of view and artistic domains. A common concern in the artistic practices of all participants are topics of systemic development, behavioral modeling, and algorithm-driven generative compositions. This multi-perspective 'aggregate' represents a blend of systematic approaches using formalized technical processes with poetic potentials developed through and expressed by the corporeality of the speaker-figures and in particular through the dialogue within the gallery space between audience members and the speaker chorus. Each artist's work is intimately linked to their research activities at ICST and can be situated between the empirical, objective approaches of research and experiential and singular processes of artistic work, thus delineating the intersection of art and science.    The installation consists of an array -- or "aggregat" in German -- of speakers placed at head height in rows of stands distributed throughout the gallery space (see diagram above). The speaker-figures have movable tops and represent kinetic sculptures as much as simple sound diffusion devices. The installation evokes a field of black sunflowers which move their heads according to the different artistic concepts. The installation runs autonomously, cycling through pieces by the six represented artists. FREE and open to the public RSVP requested to Trish Stone to the gallery and IDEAS events online?  http://www.calit2.net/events/ SPEAKER BIO: Jan Schacher is a musician and researcher active in exploratory, open forms of music performance. His main focus lies on works that combine technology and gestural or movement interactions, both on stage, in installations and fixed-media audio-visual works. He has been invited as artist, lecturer and researcher to numerous institutions and has presented installations, screenings, and performances worldwide. In addition to his artistic work, Jan Schacher holds a position as a Research Associate at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology ICST of the Zurich University of the Arts and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in the Arts at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp and the Orpheus Instituut in Ghent, Belgium. http://www.jasch.ch Daniel Bisig holds a Master's and PhD degree in Natural Sciences. He is active as a researcher and artist in the fields of artificial live and generative art. He has realised several algorithmic films, interactive installations and audio-visual performances, some of them in collaboration with musicians and choreographers. The derivation of generative algorithms and interaction techniques from biomimetic simulations forms a central aspect of his work. Daniel Bisig currently works as a Research Associate at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology ICST of the Zurich University of the Arts. http://bitingbit.org http://swarms.cc OTHER REPRESENTED ARTISTS (but not present in San Diego for the opening event) Marcus Maeder is a sound artist and composer. He studied Art at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Lucerne and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Philosophy at the University of Hagen. Maeder runs the music label domizil, which he co-founded in 1996 with Bernd Schurer. As an author, Maeder has written on a number of topics in the fields of sound art and digital media. www.domizil.ch/marcus_maeder Tobias Gerber is a musician, journalist and organizer in the context of new and experimental music. He’s member and artistic director of the swiss ensemble WERKTAG – an instrumental trio that works extensive with the possibilities of live-electronics and premiered (and will premiere) pieces by Antonie Chessex, Alex Buess, Gary Berger, Ernstalbrecht Stiebler, Anna Trauffer, Luc Döbereiner and others. He studied saxophone and art theory at the Zurich University of the Arts and his artistic and theoretical interests lay in contemporary practices connected to sound as a cultural meaningful medium. http://www.siliconcap.net (under construcion) Philippe Kocher, Musician. Composer. Researcher, (born 1973) studied piano, electroacoustic music, music theory, composition and musicology in Zurich, Basel, London and Bern. His work encompasses instrumental and electroacoustic music as well as sound installations. His artistic and scientific interests lay in algorithmic composition and computer generated music and art. Philippe works at the Institute for Computermusic and Sound Technology (ICST) in Zurich as research associate and software developer as well as at the Zurich University of the Arts as lecturer for music theory and computer music. http://www.philippekocher.ch Medusa Cramer is the spirit of antimatter, the Parashurama. Born in the coolness of at-rest data storage units, she lives on both sides of the digital mirror. Her crawl through the thicket of realityaccess options leads her to encounters of various sorts, all well-documented on her blog and podcast Avataradio. Medusa is an active participant in various radio play projects, besides manning graphics for all domizil releases and publications. http://www.domizil.ch/medusacramer.htm   MORE INFORMATION: The opening of the exhibition will be followed by an open reception in the lobby of Atkinson Hall from 6-7pm. FREE and open to the public RSVP requested to Trish Stone See also Jan Schacher's and Daniel Bisig's Immersive Lab Project at UC San Diego. to the gallery and IDEAS events online?  http://www.calit2.net/events/