| Rensselaer Art Students
Gear Up for a “Transfizzling” Multimedia Performance
Rensselaer art students have spent the semester
collaborating with Rensselaer and Princeton electronic arts
faculty members on a multimedia project called ”Transfizzle.”
The multimedia performance combines dance, chamber music,
video, and the latest in high-tech wearable computer gear,
including an electronic glove.
The performance
will showcase live interactive improvisational electronic
music that mimics animals, water, and other elements
in nature. The students in the Arts Practicum
class will use several computer systems to control the
placement of sounds.
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“Transfizzle” will take place
on Wednesday, April 23, at 8 p.m., at The Arts Center of
the Capital Region, located at 265 River St. in Troy. It
is free and open to the public.
The performance will showcase live interactive
improvisational electronic music that mimics animals, water,
and other elements in nature. The students in the Arts
Practicum class will use several computer systems to
control the placement of sounds. For instance, an electronic
glove, designed by student Michael Rabinovich will “grab
sounds from the air” and move them through 16-speaker
grid suspended from the ceiling.
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Jodi Ackerman |
The glove, equipped with tiny motors and sensors, is connected
to a computer, which keeps track of sound emanating from the
speaker system as Rabinovich subtly moves his hand in front
of him. When a motor buzzes, the student knows he’s
“on” a sound. He then has the ability to move
the sound or manipulate the notes into pitches or echoes.
The four main performers are Rensselaer
arts faculty members Curtis Bahn and Tomie Hahn along with
Princeton professors Dan Trueman and Perry Cook.
Body Sensors, a Kimono, and a Beast-Like
Mask
Dancing in a bright kimono and wearing a beast-like mask,
Hahn will perform using an array of sensors on her body
that make up the SSpeaPer (the Sensor-Speaker-Performer).
Created by Bahn, SSpeaPer is an interactive dance system
that allows Hahn to create and blend various sounds using
the motion of her body. |
