Surrey Art Gallery promises to “turn up the sound systems” on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 24.
Admission is free at the 10th-anniversary Sound Thinking symposium, a gathering for those who make and appreciate sound art.
The 2018 event will welcome six artists whose practices take advantage of “the generative potential of machines” – Amber Frid-Jimenez, Kiran Bhumber, Nancy Lee, Arne Eigenfeldt, Norah Lorway and George Rahi, with Philippe Pasquier as convener and host.
They’ll tackle a number of topics, including the question of “What is at stake for art and culture with the increase of computer-driven sound practices?”
The symposium will include presentations, discussions and live performances that focus on so-called “generative music,” defined as music that is always changing and created by systems.
“With advances in computer technology, artists and composers program more complex self-generating musical structures,” says an event advisory. “They use algorithms (which are no more than instruction lists for computers) to produce new music and sound forms. In doing so, they delegate some of their authority to machines.”
The event on Nov. 24 runs from noon to 3:30 p.m. at the gallery, at Bear Creek Park.
Music is made of organized sounds, and rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, pitch and tone all give music structure.
From classical to hip-hop to experimental, sounds can be arranged in many ways.
“Computer-based generative sound is a growing field of contemporary musical composition and sound art form,” noted Surrey Art Gallery curator Jordan Strom in a release. “As a contemporary art gallery specializing in digital media, Surrey Art Gallery has a decade-long history of presenting exhibits and programs that speak to trends in sound art. This year’s symposium will shed light on the changing nature of creativity, the frontiers of authorship, and the future of sound cultures.”
The city’s website (surrey.ca) includes a detailed history of Sound Thinking events held at Surrey Art Gallery since 2008, along with detailed bios of this year’s participating artists.
At this year’s symposium, Amber Frid-Jiminez will discuss “how video production can exploit data architectures and computer programmed sound.”
George Rahi will talk about his generative sound installations “that bridge the precision of digital to the warmth of analog (non-digital) organs,” and Kiran Bhumber and Nancy Lee will share about their new virtual-reality installation, said to reverse “the hierarchy between visual and audio elements.”
Also, Arne Eigenfeldt will perform with groups of artificial musical agents, the Musebots. “These smart musical pieces of software produce music in real time,” according to event organizers.
Not to be outdone, Norah Lorway will give a live coding performance and explain how to use computer coding as an instrument for playing music live.
