1 research outputs found
Interfacing the Network: An Embedded Approach to Network Instrument Creation
This paper discusses the design, construction, and
development of a multi-site collaborative instrument,
The Loop, developed by the JacksOn4 collective during
2009-10 and formally presented in Oslo at the
arts.on.wires and NIME conferences in 2011. The
development of this instrument is primarily a reaction
to historical network performance that either attempts
to present traditional acoustic practice in a distributed
format or utilises the network as a conduit to shuttle
acoustic and performance data amongst participant
nodes. In both scenarios the network is an integral and
indispensible part of the performance, however, the
network is not perceived as an instrument, per se. The
Loop is an attempt to create a single, distributed hybrid
instrument retaining traditionally acoustic interfaces
and resonant bodies that are mediated by the network.
The embedding of the network into the body of the
instrument raises many practical and theoretical
discussions, which are explored in this paper through a
reflection upon the notion of the distributed instrument
and the way in which its design impacts the behaviour
of the participants (performers and audiences); the
mediation of musical expression across networks; the
bi-directional relationship between instrument and
design; as well as how the instrument assists in the
realisation of the creators’ compositional and artistic
goals