Sometimes you get blown away by someone's creativity. Last night I experienced this "wow" moment watching the Academy Awards. In between the announcements of awards, they had small musical or dancing presentations. My favorite one was the human sound-effect choir where a choir made all sorts of sounds to well-known scenes of the popular movies that were projected on the large screen behind the choir. If I hadn't seen the TV screen and had just listened to the sounds, I would have had no doubt that they were of the original sound effects.
This presentation really amazed me for its originality and the ability of human voices. We have entered the stage where the extraordinary human talents and imagination meet technology, liberating our mind even further. It excites me when I think of the Academy Awards in 5, 10 years from now.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
My imaginary I2 project
I attended a performing arts event on Feb. 16, 2007 at French Institute Alliance Francaise. The production was called "Desperately Seeking Carmen," and it was based on the story "Carmen," with excerpts from the Bizet's opera, combined with live flamenco music (guitar and singing) and dance, and a silent film by Cecil B. Demille. The film was shown on the large screen behind the guitarist, dancer, and singers while they performed.
It was a great performance and it inspired me to think of an imaginary I2 project: ballet performance. Usually in a ballet production, the dancers are in front of the orchestra (or on top of the orchestra, if the orchestra is in the orchestra pit). Why don't we reverse it and have the musicians on stage and dancers in the back? I can use the same setting as "Desperately Seeking Carmen," with a screen in the back and have musicians in front. I will have dancers dance live in another site and have the video projected on the screen. I wonder how latency affects the performance as a whole, but I believe it will not be a big issue since music is created on one site only. Maybe a revival of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring as a ballet production is possible!
It was a great performance and it inspired me to think of an imaginary I2 project: ballet performance. Usually in a ballet production, the dancers are in front of the orchestra (or on top of the orchestra, if the orchestra is in the orchestra pit). Why don't we reverse it and have the musicians on stage and dancers in the back? I can use the same setting as "Desperately Seeking Carmen," with a screen in the back and have musicians in front. I will have dancers dance live in another site and have the video projected on the screen. I wonder how latency affects the performance as a whole, but I believe it will not be a big issue since music is created on one site only. Maybe a revival of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring as a ballet production is possible!
Internet2 Challenge to overcome
On Feb. 13, 2007, we connected with members of UCI to discuss the ideas of our new project. It was my first time to experience this video conference. Overall the conference was successful, however I would like to raise one question.
My major concern is how to get to know the project members of UCI. I found it rather difficult to communicate through the video with people I just met. Perhaps it is because I am not used this setting. However, I think people tend to act differently in front of a camera, including myself and wonder if I can let go of that nervousness. I believe that it is crucial for all members to get to know and build connection with each other in order to make this project successful. On Feb. 13, because the UCI camera focused on only one person (speaker) or few others around the speaker, it was hard to see the whole group. I'm sure UCI members experienced the similar at their site. How do we overcome this challenge? Well, perhaps we could have one camera that focus on a speaker, and another camera on the whole class. To create a virtual class setting that is close to a real one, we could have the video connected throughout the class period with low audio level, so that each site can talk to the other when needed. We shall see how well the next conference works.
My major concern is how to get to know the project members of UCI. I found it rather difficult to communicate through the video with people I just met. Perhaps it is because I am not used this setting. However, I think people tend to act differently in front of a camera, including myself and wonder if I can let go of that nervousness. I believe that it is crucial for all members to get to know and build connection with each other in order to make this project successful. On Feb. 13, because the UCI camera focused on only one person (speaker) or few others around the speaker, it was hard to see the whole group. I'm sure UCI members experienced the similar at their site. How do we overcome this challenge? Well, perhaps we could have one camera that focus on a speaker, and another camera on the whole class. To create a virtual class setting that is close to a real one, we could have the video connected throughout the class period with low audio level, so that each site can talk to the other when needed. We shall see how well the next conference works.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Cello Master Class
I viewed the video clip of the cello master class that was held on On 10 May 2001, between University of Oklahoma School of Music and Manhattan School of Music (the location was at Columbia University). Cello student Erin Dunn in Oklahoma participated in a master class with David Geber, Chairman of Strings at Manhattan School of Music using Internet2.
The class was very well conducted in terms of technology, and the student seemed to gain much inspiration and understanding out of this virtual lesson. One drawback is of course, not being able to touch one another. Many times a teacher needs to demonstrate very specifically how to use his or her body, requiring physical interaction with a student. However, Internet2 music education allows students in the remotest location from a teacher to interact and share musical learning together.
The class was very well conducted in terms of technology, and the student seemed to gain much inspiration and understanding out of this virtual lesson. One drawback is of course, not being able to touch one another. Many times a teacher needs to demonstrate very specifically how to use his or her body, requiring physical interaction with a student. However, Internet2 music education allows students in the remotest location from a teacher to interact and share musical learning together.
Technology, junk, and art
This article, "One Thing and Another: Tomoko Takahashi's CrashCourse@ The University of Warwick" by Nicolas Whybrow made me think about our fast advancing technology and the junk it produces. Japanese artist, Takahashi collected what seemed to be trash and unwanted and created an art show. Countless items were used: keyboard, phone, cables, shredded paper, lamp, etc. The author's interpretation of Takahashi's art is very interesting.
The artist's own position epitomises what is at stake in this paradox: amidst the chaos of 'junk' the visitor invariably discovers an aesthetically-pleasing order. It is one short step then to attributing this to a 'very Japanese' sense of meticulously-crafted, 'folkish' arrangement or ceremony. At the same time the recycling of discarded items suggests itself as a form of antidote to the mass production of popular consumer technologies that have come to be associated with post-war Japan. Thus, Takahashi is both playing on the stereotype, affirming her cultural' otherness,' and distancing herself from it.
This notion is intriguing to me as a Japanese person. In Japan people create art from empty tissue boxes, scratch papers, wire hangers. There is order behind chaos. While the technology is improving and machines become more and more compact with bigger capacity and greater possibilities, obsolete things get abandoned. Because my ancient (5 years old!) computer is crashing some times and Windows Vista has just been introduced, I would probably have to throw this computer away not too far ahead. In our Internet2 class, how should we deal with junk? Are we creating more junk than art itself?
Art works like Takahashi's project tell us to see unwanted things differently, perhaps in more appreciative way, and to notice art in them.
Article: http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol07/home.html
The artist's own position epitomises what is at stake in this paradox: amidst the chaos of 'junk' the visitor invariably discovers an aesthetically-pleasing order. It is one short step then to attributing this to a 'very Japanese' sense of meticulously-crafted, 'folkish' arrangement or ceremony. At the same time the recycling of discarded items suggests itself as a form of antidote to the mass production of popular consumer technologies that have come to be associated with post-war Japan. Thus, Takahashi is both playing on the stereotype, affirming her cultural' otherness,' and distancing herself from it.
This notion is intriguing to me as a Japanese person. In Japan people create art from empty tissue boxes, scratch papers, wire hangers. There is order behind chaos. While the technology is improving and machines become more and more compact with bigger capacity and greater possibilities, obsolete things get abandoned. Because my ancient (5 years old!) computer is crashing some times and Windows Vista has just been introduced, I would probably have to throw this computer away not too far ahead. In our Internet2 class, how should we deal with junk? Are we creating more junk than art itself?
Art works like Takahashi's project tell us to see unwanted things differently, perhaps in more appreciative way, and to notice art in them.
Article: http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol07/home.html
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