The latest additions

to the archive are presented here. Since the Visual Music Archive is not a blog it accumulates slowly and steadily, and shall continue to far into the future.

 

Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps (2006) is an interactive stereoscopic project by Klaus Obermaier and Ars Electronica Futurelab, featuring Julia Mach. Premiered by the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Dennis Russell Davies. In conventional productions of Le Sacre one choreographs and dances to the music. In this case, though, the dynamics and structure of the music interactively transform the virtual presence of the dancer and her avatars and thus produce a sort of 'meta-choreography.' Stereoscopic projections create an immersive environment, which permits the audience to participate substantially more closely on this communication than in traditional theatre settings. (Klaus Obermaier)

Animal (2011) by Arnaud Gillette and Yannick Jacquet is a desire of contrast, a graphic point of view on a subject in variable curves, a show where the equestrian universe tells the classic space of the theater stage. The main actors of this part into dialogue with digital and music art are four horses, using lights and video installations. (Arnaud Gillette)

The Clockmakers (2013) by Montreal-based designer Renaud Hallee plunges into a graphic, almost mathematical world where everything is symmetry and geometry. Half-figurative and half-abstract, both experimental and powerful, this acrobatic number is a playful creation, a sort of methodical parade that sparks unusual emotions. (National Film Board of Canada)

Audio Kinematics (2007) is an audio/video installation by Jost Muxfeldt. Audio Kinematics works with the phenomenology of sound and space, and how a listener is manifest in that space. Formally, it plays with the idea of kinematic relations on the level of sound: a virtual audio sculpture. It utilizes the spatial relations and proportions of a mechanical structure to determine various parameters of a sound composition, and creates a kind of virtual kinetic sound sculpture. (Jost Muxfeldt)

Ström (2008) by Mattias Petersson (music) and Fredrik Olofsson (video) is, in its full version, a 45-minute minimalistic piece for five loudspeakers, live-electronics and live-video, based on an open-minded, artistic approach towards electricity. The piece is an attempt to transfer electric currents via sound to the audience. The five speakers in the surround system struggles to take over the sonic stream like electro-magnets. Sine waves and noise rotates with breakneck speeds around the listeners, tries to charge them with static electricity and, as an ultimate goal, even make them levitate.(Mattias Petersson)

Orchestrion / Conductor (2011) by United Visual Artists was initially build as part of their ongoing relationship with the Creators Project, redesigning the main stage for Coachella 2011. Creating both a platform for performance and a standalone light and sound sculpture, Orchestrion is a collaboration with composer Mira Calix. Featuring sliding doors, the 64m3 cubic structure opens for bands to perform in it, and closes as part of its own performance taking place at set times during the three day festival. (United Visual Artists)

Petard (2003-2008) is Depart's 'synapsisyntactical dewelloperawe', an audio-visual live performance for synced fragmented audio and video, mostly improvised live. This is a short capture of a Petard audio-visual live performance at Cimatics in Brussels, Belgium using Pure Data's Gem and Native Instrument's Reaktor. (Depart)

 

Further resources

Center for Visual Music is a nonprofit film archive dedicated to visual music, experimental animation and avant-garde media.

 

Visual Music blog by Maura McDonnell.

 

CVM Library – a wonderful resource for books and other texts compiled by the Center for Visual Music.

 

Synesthesia in Art and Science is a Leonardo bibliography compiled by Crétien van Campen (editor).

 

Synaesthesie Forum – list of books dealing with synaesthesia. (German)

 

See this Sound (exhibition, web archive and symposium)

 

The media art gallery fluctuating images deals with the diverse artistic and institutional aspects of Visual Music. Cornelia and Holger Lund and their network support the Visual Music Archive.

 

The Swedish VJ Union is an organization which purpose is to unite and market swedish VJs and spread knowledge about VJ-ing.

 

VJ Theory intends to develop a community actively discussing and reflecting on philosophy and theory related with Vjing and realtime interaction.

 

V-Atak is a label dedicated to audio and visual art made up with a hybrid mix of VJ’s, movie makers and musicians.

 

VJForums for all kinds of information and questions.

 

The community home of Cymatics is dedicated to collating, sharing and discussing cymatic research and application.

 

Vidauxs is an independent netlabel which aims to research, promote and distribute experimental audio and video productions.

 

Festivals & Awards

Visual Music Award (Germany)

CAMP – Festival for Visual Music (Germany)

Visual Music Marathon (USA)

Offf (Europe)

Seeing Sound (UK)

onedotzero (UK)

Optronica (UK)

MuVi (Spain)

CIMATICS (Belgium)

Visualux (Japan)

 

In Academia

At the Institute For Music And Media (Robert Schumann School of Music and Media, Düsseldorf) students can choose Visual Music as a major in the institute's two bachelor programs.

 

This Visual Music blog is a supplement to the Visual Music Collaborative workshop being held at Eyebeam Art & Technology Center in creative partnership with Ghostly International.

 

AV:in is an online course created with the participation of leading audiovisual scene professionals, collectives and independent artists. AV:in was designed as a comprehensive online educational program for audiovisual studies.