Holophonor: On the Future Technology of Visual Music

This chapter discusses the progression of visual music and related audio-visual artworks through the 20th Century and considers the next steps for this field of research. The principles of visual music are described, with reference to the films of early pioneers such as John Whitney. A further exploration of the wider spectrum of subsequent work in various audio-visual art forms is then given. These include visualisations, light synthesizers, VJ performances, digital audio-visual artworks, projection mapping artworks, and interactive visual music artworks. Through consideration of visual music as a continuum of related work, the authors consider the Holophonor, a fictional audio-visual instrument, as an example of the ideal visual music instrument of the future. They conclude by proposing that a device such as the Holophonor could be constructed in the near future by utilising inter-disciplinary approaches from the fields of HCI and affective computing

Visualising rave music in Virtual Reality: symbolic and interactive approaches

In 2019 the virtual reality experience Cyberdream VR was presented at various events including the Event Two exhibition of computer art held at the Royal College of Art. This short demo for Oculus Gear VR provided a c.5 minute sonic journey, in which the user moves through a series of symbolic environments based on the futuristic techno-utopian or dystopian imagery of 90s rave fliers. These environments accompanied an original soundtrack of rave music and vaporwave, allowing users to enjoy the music whilst feeling as though they are inside synaesthetic virtual spaces related to the symbolic imagery of rave culture. This paper will discuss the subsequent development of this project, which is now being adapted for the Oculus Quest VR headset. Rajmil Fischman’s concept of ‘Music in the Holodeck’; the fictional ’holophonor’ instrument from the TV series Futurama; or the video game Rez Infinite, are among those that suggest paradigms for performing sound and visuals in VR. Drawing upon these ideas, the current iteration of Cyberdream allows the user to trigger ‘sound instruments’ with the Oculus Quest Touch controllers. This is conceived as a means through which the user can ‘paint with sound’ in 3D space, improvising with the music, whilst also generating synaesthetic imagery. The design of these sound instruments presents interesting challenges, in order for sound to be generated in correspondence with visual imagery, where these materials may complement both the music and spatial environments. Drawing on the author’s VJ work, at the macro level of compositional structure, the latest version of the project also seeks ways to provide a more continuous experience analogous to a DJ or VJ set, through blending of music tracks between scenes. This paper will discuss on-going work on this project, advancing the discourse regarding the visualisation of hardcore rave music in virtual reality

Virtual hallucinations: projects in VJing, virtual reality and cyberculture

This paper discusses a variety of the author’s artistic projects exploring altered states of consciousness and computer art. First, the paper will provide a brief overview of previous creative works, which include compositions of electroacoustic music, interactive visualisations, and visual music films. These previous works use the concept of altered states of consciousness as a compositional principle, as explored in the author’s book Inner Sound: Altered States of Consciousness in Electronic Music and Audio-Visual Media (OUP 2018). Following this, a variety of the author’s recent creative work produced from 2016–2019 will be discussed. These works include: a series of paintings that incorporate computer graphics animations when viewed in augmented reality; VJ performances constructed using direct animation on 8mm film, computer graphics animations generated from code and audio-reactive effects; and Cyberdream VR, a virtual reality experience. These interrelated projects continue to develop the author’s artistic investigations into altered states, while also referencing work such as demo scene videos; cyberdelic imagery of the type seen on fliers from the 1990s rave-era; and the recent Internet-borne subculture vaporwave, which recontextualises the aesthetics of 1980s and 1990s ambient corporate music and utopian computer graphics to construct surrealistic dystopias

Optical research: a curated visual music collection

Optical Research is a curated collection of visual music by a group of 12 international artists, which has recently been presented as a DVD, a gallery installation, and will be presented at the British Computer Society Electronic Visualisation and the Arts: EVA London 2015

States of being: art and identity in digital space and time

This one-day Symposium explored themes of personhood, modernity and digital art, bringing together speakers from a range of disciplines to consider technology, artistic practice and society. It seeks a renewed consideration of the role of art in illuminating human identity in a positive relation with technology, and its transformative effects upon space and time. The concerns for the role of art amidst the forces of a post-modern world are influenced by important legacies of the past, by which ideas about human identity and difference have been made meaningful in the relation of history and technology. In the frequently transient and conflicting forces of humanness and forces of modernity, the digital world of the arts emerges as a means by which new ideas of space and time can be considered, with new perspectives of human identity seen as states of being, towards the possibilities of experience, technology, individuality and society

Communicating Auditory Impairments Using Electroacoustic Composition

Changes in human sensory perception can occur for a variety of reasons. In the case of distortions or transformations in the human auditory system, the aetiology may include factors such as medical conditions affecting cognition or physiology, interaction of the ears with mechanical waves, or stem from chemically induced sources, such the consumption of alcohol. These changes may be permanent, intermittent, or temporary. In order to communicate such effects to an audience in an accessible, and easily understood manner, a series of electroacoustic compositions were produced. This concept follows on from previous work on the theme of representing auditory hallucinations. Specifically, these compositions relate to auditory impairments that humans can experience due to tinnitus or through the consumption of alcohol. In the case of tinnitus, whilst much is known about the causes and symptoms, the experience of what it is like to live with tinnitus is less explored and those who have acquired the condition may often feel frustration when trying to convey the experience of ‘what it is like’ for them. In terms of impairment from alcohol consumption, whilst there is much hearsay, little research exists on the immediate and short-term effects of alcohol consumption on the human auditory system, despite over half of the UK population reported as consuming alcohol in 2017. The methodology employed to design these compositions draws upon scientific research findings, including experimental and explorative studies involving human participants, coupled with electroacoustic composition techniques. The pieces are typically constructed by mixing field recordings with synthesised materials and incorporating a range of temporal and frequency domain manipulations to the elements therein. In this way, the listener is able to experience the phenomenon in a recognisable context, where distortions of reality can be emulated to varying degrees. It is intended that these compositions can serve as easily accessible and understood examples of auditory impairments and that they might find utility in the communication of symptoms to those who have never experienced the underlying causes or conditions. This presents opportunities for pieces like these to be used in scenarios such as education and public health awareness campaigns

Epidermal growth factor mediates detachment from and invasion through collagen I and Matrigel in Capan-1 pancreatic cancer cells

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a highly invasive neoplasm. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor are over expressed in pancreatic cancer, and expression correlates with invasion and metastasis. We hypothesized that EGF receptor and integrin signalling pathways interact in mediating cellular adhesion and invasion in pancreatic cancer, and that invasiveness correlates temporally with detachment from extracellular matrix. METHODS: We tested this hypothesis by investigating the role of EGF in mediating adhesion to and invasion through collagen I and Matrigel in the metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line Capan-1. Adhesion and invasion were measured using in vitro assays of fluorescently-labeled cells. Adhesion and invasion assays were also performed in the primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line MIA PaCa-2. RESULTS: EGF inhibited adhesion to collagen I and Matrigel in Capan-1 cells. The loss of adhesion was reversed by AG825, an inhibitor of erbB2 receptor signalling and by wortmannin, a PI3K inhibitor, but not by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. EGF stimulated invasion through collagen I and Matrigel at concentrations and time courses similar to those mediating detachment from these extracellular matrix components. Adhesion to collagen I was different in MIA PaCa-2 cells, with no significant change elicited following EGF treatment, whereas treatment with the EGF family member heregulin-alpha elicited a marked increase in adhesion. Invasion through Matrigel in response to EGF, however, was similar to that observed in Capan-1 cells. CONCLUSION: An inverse relationship exists between adhesion and invasion capabilities in Capan-1 cells but not in MIA PaCa-2 cells. EGF receptor signalling involving the erbB2 and PI3K pathways plays a role in mediating these events in Capan-1 cells

Digital Art, Culture and Heritage: New constructs and consciousness

Invited presentation for special symposium at EVA London 2019. This half-day Symposium explores themes of digital art, culture, and heritage, bringing together speakers from a range of disciplines to consider technology with respect to artistic and academic practice. As we increasingly see ourselves and life through a digital lens and the world communicated on digital screens, we experience altered states of being and consciousness in ways that blur the lines between digital and physical reality, while our ways of thinking and seeing become a digital stream of consciousness that flows between place and cyberspace. We have entered the postdigital world and are living, working, and thinking with machines as our computational culture driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning embeds itself in everyday life and threads across art, culture, and heritage, juxtaposing them in the digital profusion of human creativity on the Internet

FINANCIAL INSTABILITY AND BUSINESS FLUCTUATIONS (SIMULATION, MACROECONOMICS, DYNAMO)

This dissertation attempts to combine a wage-cost markup pricing (and income distribution) model with the work of Hyman Minsky on the effects of financial variables on aggregate demand. Specifically, an attempt is made to integrate the wage-cost markup pricing theory with Minsky\u27s financial instability hypothesis to develop a coherent model of what Keynes referred to as . . . a sudden collapse in the marginal efficiency of capital. (Keynes, 1936, p.315). This dissertation employs the system dynamics method of simulation modeling due to J. Forrester. The model offered makes use of the structural components which have been incorporated in a number of other (often large-scale) models of national and world economies (N. Forrester; N. Mass). The difference between this dissertation and previous similar projects lies in the emphasis on financial variables. Nathaniel Mass, for example, disputes the notion of capital investment as a causal factor in short cycles since the lags involved in the investment process are too long, in his judgment, to be involved in 4-6 year fluctuations. However, this involves two dubious assumptions: (a) This implies a questionable distinction between inventories and goods in process on the one hand and plant and equipment on the other (see Ayres); (b) It ignores the dual nature of investment, which creates income via the multiplier in the short run but also increases capacity in the long run (see Hicks). The current model will analyze the behavior of monetary flows in terms of their relations with monetary levels such as wages, debt and prices. The simulation experiments will examine the stability of the economic system with respect to random shocks. Additional runs will provide evidence regarding the effects of various policy regimes on systemic stability