iEAR U

Technology influences music. Science connects with art. It’s a high-tech symphony of creativity at Rensselaer under the direction of Neil Rolnick.

Rolnick is a longtime professor in the arts department, home to innovative programs such as Integrated Electronic Arts (iEAR), and Electronic Media, Arts and Communication (EMAC) that are shaping the artists and musicians of a new, wired world. A renowned composer, with a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, he is also the creative muse behind a number of high-tech, high-concept projects spearheaded at Rensselaer.

Of Gigs & Gigabytes
What do musical jam sessions and Internet traffic jams have in common? In the mind of Neil Rolnick, the two combine for an unprecedented blend of information technology, engineering, and musicianship.

Rolnick’s Two Places @ Once was a project that pushed the limits of teleconferenced musical and video performance. In its concert debut, musicians in New York City performed simultaneously with musicians in Santa Monica, California, via a special Web connection utilizing data compression technologies devised by the Center for Image Processing Research at Rensselaer. This is just a sample of Rolnick’s innovative work, and a glimpse into the kind of interdisciplinary artistry happening at Rensselaer.

Digital Music
Rolnick’s haunting electronic music featured on his CD, Requiem Songs (written for the victims of nationalism in Bosnia), was performed for Congress. The Village Voice and The New York Times have given him rave reviews.

Art & Technology at Rensselaer
It’s been said that artists are the barometers of society. How they interpret the world around them influences how we see it. It is sometimes through an artist’s work that individuals can find their voice. The artists at iEAR are uniquely positioned to express how technology is transforming our society.

Witness to the Future
Emmy-award winning videographer Branda Miller’s wrenching portraits of individuals affected by environmental disasters in Witness to the Future has won awards around the country. Witness features Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring as an e-book for the first time. The Web site is also a global resource for online activism featuring a library of hundreds of links detailing how to organize, create awareness in the media, and inspire communities to action in the face of environmental disaster.

Etched in Stone
Kathleen Ruiz was commissioned to etch her art in stone on the Queens Borough Public Library in Flushing, N.Y. Sequence depicts cell mitosis and uses it as a metaphor for the individual’s search for information. Ruiz’s massive installation is etched in granite. She is currently working on a virtual environment titled “The Music Box” in partnership with composers, an engineer, and a biologist.

The Butcher, The Baker, The Web Page Maker
The Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication (EMAC) program was named one of the top 10 programs in the country by Shift.com. EMAC integrates art, writing, and critical theory with expertise in advanced electronic multimedia. Preparing students for careers as Web designers, advertising, animation, game design, and even electronic publishing. The program is a collaboration with the departments of arts, and language, literature, and communication.

Practicing What They Teach
Active artists with interactive portfolios make up the arts faculty at Rensselaer. Yacub Addy of the Ghanaian drumming troupe Odaada! teaches Ghanaian drumming at Rensselaer. The New York Times has called Odaada! “a treasure,” and Addy’s students feel the same about him. Curtis Bahn is developing new speaker systems and interactive interfaces for music and video performance. Larry Kagan has support from Microsoft for his shadow sculptures that have won him rave reviews in The New York Times.

Why Is a Top Technological University Into the Arts?
The impact of technology on our world and society is truly pervasive; likewise the influence of music and art. From Web masters and graphic designers to architects and filmmakers, a new generation of techno-artists is very much in demand. Rensselaer is uniquely equipped to forge this intersection of left- and right-brain ingenuity.

Why not change the world?