A snap shot of sites that document work, artists, filmmakers, composers, musicians, video artists, events that work with the medium of visual and sound. All forms and presentations are considered
Jodina Meehan is a cymatics artist using sound waves to create permanent art, and she is also editor of the Journal of Cymatics. This journal is supported by a website, that has a lot of very useful resources, information and examples in the area of cymatics - this wonderful and incredible sound to art work of cymatics. You can become a member of this website also.
The Journal of Cymatics: The Study of Sound Made Visible, was founded in 2007, by editor Jodina Meehan. Reporting on the art and science of cymatics around the world. If you have a piece of cymatics news to contribute, do visit the website on how to contribute.
Jodina Meehan at work in her studio creating cymatics art
You can view Jodina Meehans creating her own cymatics work in her studio- view the beautiful patterns created in an excellent video that showcases her cymatic on the following page: http://cymatica.com/2009/05/05/cymatica-1-inside-my-studio
There are lots of categories on this website to help you browse through the extensive resources. One such category is the Cymatics Video Category. http://cymatica.com/category/cymatics-video/
This website has a lot of information and is a wonderful resource for cymatics
“Joost Rekveld has provided an undeniable masterpiece with #37.” International Film Festival Rotterdam
This ravishing “play of light” explores rhythmic abstractions in the cinematic tradition of Oskar Fischinger and visual music animation. The centerpiece of the program is the Los Angeles debut of Joost Rekveld’s #37 (Netherlands, 2009, 31 min., 35mm CinemaScope), a stunningly beautiful study of the propagation and diffraction of light through crystalline structures. Sure to bend more than a few minds, the lineup also offers award-winning animated shorts from around the world, most of which are screening in L.A. for the first time. Featured artists include Scott Draves, Robert Seidel, Steven Woloshen, Bärbel Neubauer, Thorsten Fleisch, Bret Battey, Michael Scroggins, Samantha Krukowski, Mondi, Devon Damonte, Scott Nyerges, Vivek Patel and Yusuke Nakajima. Plus the final film by the late CGI wizard Richard “Doc” Baily.
EraSer + vj Ape5 are an audiovisual and experimental project from Italy.
More on ape 5 Ape5 is active since 2001 both as a VJ and video-artist, basing his performances on the research and experimentation of real-time video, interested in the interaction between arts and video and in the experimentation of glitch aesthetisc of the sound. In 2005, he established vidauxs.net on the the first net labels that focus on real-time audio-video interaction. Lately he is into building audio-video controller that use open-source hardware See: http://www.ape5.it/
More on EraSer Matteo de Ruggieri using the pseudonym of EraSer has given birth to his own electronic experimental project through the art of circuit bending, exclusively playing with toys and musical instruments transformed by him, creating glitch and lo-fi electronic sounds on an intense melodic basis. An artist and circuit bender, he has set up circuitbend.it the first italian website based on this art, has modified toys for international musicians. See: http://myspace.com/mydataeraser
Latest Creative Project
Future sounds like past toys
It is based on the concept that contemporary music and the music of the future "sounds like" past toys.
Programme note: "Normally, when you present a piece, you specify your intentions. But in this case, it is the absence of intention that defines our performance. We are not hoping for anything in particular to take place since it is precisely the “whatever happens” that interests us—all the more so if it is beyond our will or our control. We can say that the performance will be comprised of certain elements. There will be music, both early (Frescobaldi, Dowland, Couperin) and contemporary (Jean-Luc Fafchamps, John Adams, Steve Reich, Maurice Ravel, Claude Ledoux, Collard-Neven). There will also be free improvisation, music that doesn’t yet exist but lives only in the realm of possibility. At the same time, there will be images, drawn and reworked, as well as photos that don’t tell a story, a sort of abstract impressionism. Lastly, there will be a painterfilmmaker and a pianist who (re)discovered each other and (re)connnected somewhere beyond time and space and who very much look forward to the unexpected possibilities of their visual and sonic interplay." See programme at:
The punto y raya festival to be held in Barcelona on November 26th to 29th, 2009 (see website) in its call for works has collected an amazing selection of audio visual works. The website provides excellent documentation of the works being shown and is a brillant starting point for checking out contemporary audio visual work - both fixed media, installation and performance.
The 2009 official competition program for the festival showcases contemporary work - there are 76 films from all over the world, there is a link to more information about each film and a screengrab from the film - this is an excellent festival http://www.puntoyrayafestival.com/2_edicion/eng/competicion09_mod1_eng.html
"This festival explores the ultimate synthesis of the form·movement duality in different spheres of human endeavour. Due to the simplicity of its criteria, it uses abstraction's prime matter to reveal the limitations and achievements of our representation systems. The dot·line is the ultimate grain of our universe and of the sense we make of it; it's the primordial identification of all that exists; the essence of that which is matterless but builds up matter, of what is imperceptible but allows us to recognise all perceptible things. But in the symbolic dimension the dot·line ceases to be an end in itself to become a representation of human thought."
"Sound Expression, graphics and audiovisual animation an experimentatl approach in line with their theoretical work on psicosonography. Intermodal ethic and integrated graphic design. This website is based on a few examples of their work."
Installation du collectif Visual System, pour l'édition 2009 du festival Scopitone à Nantes.
48X48 a été réalisée par Julien Guinard, Stephen Roques et Valère Terrier.
Une sculpture lumineuse interactive et contrôlable, une œuvre volumétrique en apesanteur de 64m2, le collectif travaille sur des structures architecturales provisoires avec une technologie détournée : la led. Conçue comme un espace de lumière sans armature, généré par son environnement, elle happe le spectateur qui mènera rapidement un jeu spatial (sa position), architectural (points de vue de l’installation dans l’espace) et cinétique (vitesse de déplacement), alors conditionnés par la présence ou absence de lumière.
Remerciement très spécial à Monsieur Thierry Pillet et à la Fondation Jean-Luc Lagardère qui sont à nos côtés depuis le début.
A previous post showing their architectural installations is here
Practice-led Visual Music Research Symposium, Bath Spa University, 19/20th Sept 2009
"Bath Spa University’s Center for Musical Research hosts an informal two-day symposium exploring a broad range of multimedia work highlighting the relationship between sound and image. Areas such as visual music, abstract cinema, experimental animation, lumia, cymatics, live audiovisual performance and relevant installation work will be examined and explored."http://seeingsound.co.uk
The excellent programme organised by Dr Joe Hyde consisted of papers/presentations, performances and screenings. The mix of screenings, talks, papers and performances made this a really rich event and a wonderful opportunity to see and hear the work that is being created now in the area of practice-led Visual Music Research and to hear in detail how this is being done across many universities and various research activities in the UK, US, Ireland, Germany. Screenings came from a mix of historical works and cutting edge contemporary work.
Having just returned from the event, it was a great opportunity to see talks and work currently being created being shown by the researcher/artist/composer at the same time. For example, several papers presented were followed by screenings and performances. The event also screened historical works and it screened a full and rich historical screening programme. Works from historical filmmakers and pioneers such as en extensive screening of Mary Ellen Bute's classic visual music films in the Mary Ellen Bute retrospective screening and an extensive screening of Oskar Fischinger's films in the Oskar Fischinger programme, were shown. The Mary Ellen Bute retrospective was also discussed in a paper by Sandra Naumann (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Media.Art.Research, Linz, Austria) – Seeing Sound: Mary Ellen Bute’s Short Films. This paper really brought forward Mary Ellen Butes historical works as a really relevant and important historical figure in the area of Visual Music. See the screenings programme at: http://www.seeingsound.co.uk/programme/screenings/
Barcelona based IQBIT is an electronic composer from Rome based in Barcelona, Spain. IQBIT collaborates with Visual Artists, creating electronic music and sound for collaborative video and audio visual projects. The works from these colloborations are both linked to research in synaesthesia but are also definitely are Visual Music. Their visual music arises from a collaboration between music composers and visual artists, so the resulting video is a unity of the composition of visual and audio material. Some of the videos are live sets - consisting of live audio and video. The words used to describe their works - sound video. Their live sets are described as Audio Visual Projects. Iqbit myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/iqbit
Collaborations with xx+xy visuals
Bo Za AV project
IQBIT has created the sound for a Audio Video live set with visuals by xx+xy visuals. This project is called Bo Za AV project and is documented online on the xx+xy visuals website. There are also high quality video excerpts. Project Description: "Abstract and graphic audiovisual language presenting itself into rhythmic synch where the transfigurations is controlled thorough the digital animation process. The live project, sound and imagery are synchronized asserting a form of glitch minimalism re-assembled into rhythmic audio-visual landscape. Time of the gig 30min."
AV collaborative project by xx+xy visuals with IQBIT "Experimental video project based on sound by IQBIT. The name of the work is directly inspired by the name of the sound piece from IQBIT EP Liminal ‘08. This work is based on single black and white image that was chosen among variety of images commonly used as desktop picture and typically representing beautiful landscapes displayed on our desktop computers. This image is not representing any more urban landscape with one bridge heading to some-where but is reconstructed into abstract and unique audiovisual language presenting itself into rhythmic AV synch where the transfigurations is inspired and also controlled thorough the digital animation process. This digital process of transfiguration of the image into abstract and computer based work that use sound as source material, gives us the possibility to re-construct animations and imagery through controlled rhythmic audio synch and effects of the software. The Rabbi sound and imagery are synchronized asserting a form of glitch minimalism re-assembled into rhythmic audio-visual landscape. " Source: Rabbi Project Description http://www.xxxyvisuals.com/projects/AV_Rabbi_xxxy_iqbit/Rabbi-description_bio.pdf Video excerpts at the above link also. Quick link to video here. Rabbi version 2 video link.
Center for Visual Music has received two new grants for preservation of very early Oskar Fischinger animation experiments.
The first grant is a prestigious Avant-Garde Masters Grant, to support the preservation of three nitrate reels of Fischinger's original 35mm experiments from his RAUMLICHTKUNST multiple projector cinema performances of the 1920s. The grant is funded by The Film Foundation and managed by The National Film Preservation Foundation. The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. Joining Scorsese on the board are: Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Alexander Payne, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg.
The second grant, received from The National Film Preservation Foundation, supports CVM's preservation of an early reel of Fischinger's 35mm nitrate black and white animation experiments from the late 1920s - early 1930s, which includes early Muratti cigarette commercial tests.
Center for Visual Music is a nonprofit archive dedicated to visual music, experimental animation and abstract cinema. CVM has received a series of film preservation grants and funding from public institutions and private sources over the past six years enabling its preservation of animated films by Fischinger, Jordan Belson, Jules Engel, Charles Dockum, John and James Whitney, Harry Smith, David Lebrun and others. CVM provided films for the 2005 Visual Music exhibition at MOCA LA, the 2003 Jules Engel Retrospective at Redcat Theatre, and many international festivals and museum exhibitions.
Join CVM and help with their preservation and promotion of experimental animation (and collect cool vintage Fischinger and other premiums!)
Martin böttger, Germany has several videos on Vimeo - some of these are also installations. Excellent work and great audio visual connections. This video he created with Maya. His Blog: tsaworks
Of his many video excerpts on vimeo, this work creeated in collaboration with Bruno Dias is wonderful - such tight 3D integration with the audio.
There are some really interesting vimeo channels showcasing contemporary work in the audio visual field. These channels are a great opportunity to see what is going on with audio visual work/art/music today. They also demonstrate how many different fields that audio visual works are taking place in - such as in installation settings, as interfaces, in gallery spaces, as films and animations led by music collaborations and music label collaborations - there are just so many ways now in which audio and visual are being put together...I like to still call all these approaches visual music. (Author Comment)
Designflux http://vimeo.com/channels/designflux "Designflux exists as a quarterly publication, bringing together interviews, reviews and portfolios of the best in contemporary motion design. This channel acts as a means to showcase work we are watching at Designflux as well as to publish special information on up and coming issues. More info at www.designflux.com"
This demonstration of an intereactive surface for VJing is excellent. The purpose of this interface is as said by Stuart Taylor on his vimeo page. "VPlay is an interactive multi-touch surface designed to open up the practice of VJing, encouraging new creative dialogues to be formed between VJs and members of the audience." http://vimeo.com/2738692
Ron Pellegrino's website has an extensive amount of resources that are of great relevance for any studies into visual music and visual music visualisers. Not only does it document his own work, but also provides links to his writings on the area of music and visual studies and writings and resources on visual music. For example some really excellent resources can be found linked from the homepage of his website - http://www.ronpellegrinoselectronicartsproductions.org/ Topics and Resources such as: Visual Music Compositional Thinking
Of interest is his recent writings and resources and a book and DVD now available.
EMERGENT MUSIC AND VISUAL MUSIC: INSIDE STUDIES - BOOK and DVD - 2009
Some new visual music resources from Ron Pellegrino that should be of interest to music visualizers:
eBay Auction Materials for a Sonic and Visual Music Synthesizer - Synthi AKS and Laser Animator
Also, a unique visual music synthesis system is on the auction block at eBay and will be there until Monday, May 18, 2009. To learn more the system go to the following URL - Sonic & Visual Music Synthesizer.. or go to eBay and copy "Sonic & Visual Music Synthesizer - Synthi AKS & Laser Animator" into eBays search field.
Earlier Visual Music Resources
The Electronic Arts of Sound and Light - The Electronic Arts of Sound and Light by Ronald Pellegrino (c) 1983 by Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. ISBN 0-442-26499-2. The following website provides excerpts from this book.
"I signed the contract to write The Electronic Arts of Sound and Light in the spring of 1977, started working on it in the fall of 1977, and finished it during the summer of 1981. During those four years I spent more than 9 months out of every year on the road giving multimedia performances in the USA and abroad, teaching music composition and technology for a year at Miami University and for three years at Texas Tech University, consulting on business electronic arts projects, founding/directing and finding funds for The Leading Edge Music Series in Lubbock, Texas, and helping to establish the long running New Music America Festivals. In other words, I was actually working on the subject material of the book and writing about it during the cracks in my schedule.
....
The book covers the first 14 years of my research in the electronic arts - from 1967 to 1981. ... it's the first book to deal in detail with the subjects of visual music, real-time composition, and performance multimedia with electronic instruments (in the 70s and early 80s it was called intermedia or integrated media).
The notion of visual music, a sphere I've been exploring since the late 60s, is just beginning to pick up steam in the late 90s probably because the younger generation of artists is growing up in a multimedia world. The vast majority of older (over 30?) visual artists tend to be studio, gallery, and object oriented. They are materialists with a weak sense of the ephemeral and whatÕs involved in articulating the dynamical flow of time. Specialists in music seem to be too busy with their notes or generally disinclined to explore the sphere of visual music. Finally in the late 90s the new breed of multimedia artist is emerging, younger artists who seem to sense that today's instrument of the electronic arts, the multimedia computer, has the built-in facility for integrating the electronic arts of sound and light. The multimedia computer and a language like Java, that can function as a software multimedia synthesizer, bring us to the threshold of a visual music age."...
Applying Concepts of Musical Consonance and Dissonance to Colour
An edited version of this article was published in the May 2004 edition of the journal Leonardo (Vol. 37, No. 2)
Katherine Lubar is a painter and musician who applies concepts of musical consonance and dissonance to the use of colour in her paintings. This article on colour intervals is a most comprehensive account of how she does this in her work, it is also an excellent article documenting a colour to music interval correspondence. (Author Comment)
"After comparing the colour intervals to their musical counterparts, I do feel they share something in common — the colour intervals don’t have the same character as each of the musical intervals, but both seem to follow a similar pattern in terms of which work harmoniously and which don’t. In addition, I have realized, from this research, the importance of the element of contrast to both visual and musical compositions. So while these correlations may not all work on a practical level, they can at least give us a greater understanding of colour on a more metaphorical level. The idea of correlating colour intervals to musical intervals could possibly provide a new method of examining the way colour is used in visual compositions. It is worth analysing paintings that work well colourwise, to see how their intervals relate in terms of consonance and dissonance. I would invite the reader to apply the principles outlined in this paper to such works and to use their own perception of colour to investigate these ideas further."
Website screengrabs with links to creative work documented on the internet. visual music, intermedia, multimedia. Art works that move beyond their own medium. Please feel free to leave comments and email me with any suggestions. Email is mmcd@soundingvisual.com. Website: Sounding Visual
Seeing Sound Symposium-UK
Practice-led Visual Music Research Symposium, Bath Spa University, 19/20th Sept 2009
Bath Spa University’s Center for Musical Research hosted an informal two-day symposium exploring a broad range of multimedia work highlighting the relationship between sound and image. Areas such as visual music, abstract cinema, experimental animation, lumia, cymatics, live audiovisual performance and relevant installation work were examined and explored. Excellent Resource on cutting edge Visual Music. Link to post
Jodina Meehan is a cymatics artist using sound waves to create permanent art, and she is also editor of the Journal of Cymatics. This journal is supported by a website, that has a lot of very useful resources, information and examples in the area of cymatics - this wonderful and incredible sound to art work of cymatics. You can become a member of this website also.
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