{"id":136738,"date":"2013-10-14T13:10:43","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T16:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=136738"},"modified":"2015-06-08T15:49:27","modified_gmt":"2015-06-08T18:49:27","slug":"seeing-sounds-and-hearing-movements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/seeing-sounds-and-hearing-movements\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing sounds and hearing movements"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"L\u00edlian

Public domain image<\/span><\/a> L\u00edlian Campesato\u00a0in the work Conex\u00f5es\u00a0dispersas\/dispers\u00f5es\u00a0conexas (Scattered\u00a0connections\/Connected\u00a0scatterings)<\/em>, 2011Public domain image<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

When the M\u00f3bile project was\u00a0started in 2009, Fernando\u00a0Iazzetta of the University\u00a0of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s School of\u00a0Communications and Arts (ECA-USP)\u00a0described his intention to \u201ccombine theoretical\u00a0and artistic production, making\u00a0it possible to develop creative work in\u00a0our proposal.\u201d Near project completion,\u00a0M\u00f3bile researchers demonstrate their\u00a0dedication to that promise by showcasing\u00a0the M\u00f3bile project on an international\u00a0tour from which they have just\u00a0returned.<\/p>\n

Five groups conducted presentations\u00a0during the tour: the Sonic Arts Research\u00a0Centre at Queen\u2019s University in Belfast,\u00a0Ireland; the Seia Conservatory of Music\u00a0and the University of Aveiro in Portugal;\u00a0La Haceria in Bilbao, Spain; and Hangar\u00a0in Barcelona, Spain. \u201cFor the first\u00a0time, FAPESP funded a tour of musicians\u00a0abroad. We saw that in addition to the\u00a0published works, the artistic component\u00a0generated by our research was as important\u00a0as the written results,\u201d explains\u00a0Iazzetta, author of M\u00fasica e media\u00e7\u00e3o tecnol\u00f3gica<\/em> (music and technological\u00a0mediation) from the publishing company\u00a0Perspectiva.<\/p>\n

In addition to the project coordinator,\u00a0L\u00edlian Campesato, Michelle Agnes,\u00a0Julian Jaramillo, Rog\u00e9rio Costa and Vitor\u00a0Kisil comprise the members of M\u00f3bile.\u00a0The professors and students who\u00a0were not able to attend the tour were\u00a0represented by the artistic production\u00a0created as a result of their thematic research.\u00a0The show, which was named\u00a0Transpar\u00eancia (Transparency),<\/em> consisted\u00a0of six scenes in which \u201ctraditional\u201d\u00a0works were combined with instruments\u00a0and sheet music. Three works employed\u00a0improvisation, and the three works were\u00a0based on an attempt to create interaction\u00a0among music, technology and other\u00a0types of art.<\/p>\n

\"M\u00f3bile

Public domain image<\/span><\/a> M\u00f3bile Ensemble\u00a0at the show Por tr\u00e1s\u00a0das coisas, (Behind\u00a0things)<\/em> October 2010Public domain image<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

In the interactive scenes, the group\u00a0used a black table on which a mini camera\u00a0was installed and operated by L\u00edlian\u00a0Campesato. \u201cShe manipulates objects so\u00a0there are variations in the projection of\u00a0sound and images, for example. In another part, we show a film of a subway\u00a0platform. On stage, L\u00edlian appears to be\u00a0tearing pieces of paper, which above\u00a0her come to slowly reveal themselves\u00a0as the image that goes with the film,\u201d\u00a0says Iazzetta. \u201cWe attempted to pass on\u00a0this feeling of revelation by making the\u00a0images transparent,\u201d says the musician.<\/p>\n

M\u00f3bile\u2019s objective is to assemble researchers\u00a0from the fields of music, visual\u00a0arts, performing arts, and computer\u00a0and engineering science to develop\u00a0new musical processes that focus on the\u00a0integration of various unconnected sectors.\u00a0In particular, the project questions\u00a0the obsession with technology, whereas\u00a0the initial experimental models focused\u00a0on studios and high-tech equipment.\u00a0\u201cThere was a time in 20th-century music\u00a0when exaggerated enthusiasm for novelty emerged. Technological advances\u00a0were revered as if they were the stars of\u00a0the show on their own. For us, what matters\u00a0is the result,\u201d says Iazzetta. \u201cOften,\u00a0a lot of technology can even cause interference.\u00a0We took a low-tech approach\u00a0and used the most efficient technology\u00a0we could find in everyday life. The most\u00a0complex link has to be artistic thought\u00a0rather than engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researcher cautions that although\u00a0this concept may not be original, the\u00a0mystification with advanced technology\u00a0is prevalent even in major music research\u00a0centers. He believes that the reassignment\u00a0of the role of virtuosity, which\u00a0has divided creators and audiences into\u00a0two separate groups, and a certain distancing\u00a0in terms of tradition results in\u00a0the combination of the music of other\u00a0artistic models with various arts. \u201cIt is in\u00a0this context that we are able to develop\u00a0interactive music because the only way\u00a0to access this new form is through the\u00a0full sensory experience,\u201d says Iazzetta.<\/p>\n

\"M\u00f3bile

Public domain image<\/span><\/a> M\u00f3bile Ensemble\u00a0presenting a work\u00a0at the \u00bfM\u00fasica? 5<\/em>\u00a0at the University\u00a0of S\u00e3o Paulo, in 2012Public domain image<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Reaction<\/strong>
\nThe basis of the project is a reaction\u00a0against technology as a solution to every\u00a0problem without disregarding history.\u00a0This is the case with music. The\u00a0term \u201celectroacoustical music\u201d emphasizes\u00a0the technology used by this genre.\u00a0This notion was initially criticized in the\u00a01980s. The idea is to remove art from its\u00a0pedestal, which isolated it as something\u00a0for the few and by the few, present it as\u00a0an accessible and ironic game and make\u00a0music and its creation compatible with\u00a0daily life. Technological mediation facilitated\u00a0the connection between sound\u00a0and visual elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe audience at a concert, for example,\u00a0looks on passively at something\u00a0they are unable to do or fully understand,\u00a0in total awe and from a distance. Even\u00a0with a piano, people do not really understand\u00a0the complex mechanics,\u201d states\u00a0Iazzetta. Technology can compensate for\u00a0this lack of virtuosity. It can positively\u00a0forge a \u201cnew amateurism\u201d: the ability\u00a0for anyone to create music. The asymmetry\u00a0between persons who create and\u00a0persons who appreciate the work of art\u00a0would disappear. Machines would replace\u00a0technique and experimentation\u00a0would replace tradition. \u201cPlaying with\u00a0machines is an experience in which art\u00a0tends to stop being art. These are artistic\u00a0proposals that leave technique behind\u00a0and focus on the experience of playing\u00a0with materials. In turn, art is increasingly\u00a0immersed in the use of technological\u00a0junk, and, paradoxically, the technique\u00a0itself gets diluted,\u201d notes Iazzetta.<\/p>\n

\"Michelle

Public domain image<\/span><\/a> Michelle Agnes playing\u00a0prepared piano music\u00a0at the \u00bfM\u00fasica? 3<\/em> event\u00a0at the Cultural Center\u00a0in S\u00e3o Paulo in 2011Public domain image<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

However, these ideas derive from\u00a0technology for the paradox to work.\u00a0\u201cOur work complements the musicians.\u00a0We have many questions about\u00a0the sound and they are objective, carrying\u00a0no aesthetic bias. These are signals\u00a0that are treated scientifically,\u201d observes\u00a0Marcelo Queiroz, professor of computer\u00a0science at USP and a member of M\u00f3bile.\u00a0In addition to technological knowledge,\u00a0Queiroz has a degree in composition\u00a0from ECA-USP. \u201cBut when I\u2019m on the\u00a0\u2018other side\u2019 I just work with the scientific\u00a0variables in search of a horizontal\u00a0partnership with the group\u2019s musical\u00a0research,\u201d says Queiroz.<\/p>\n

Queiroz indicates that this interaction\u00a0occurs whenever an artistic question\u00a0generates a technical challenge, such as\u00a0the analysis of voice signals. \u201cI prefer to\u00a0see music and art as places where problems\u00a0of technical interest that require technical solutions arise naturally. After\u00a0all, since computers are more flexible,\u00a0they offer more opportunities to expand\u00a0upon and experiment with sounds\u00a0and signals than by creating new instruments,\u201d\u00a0says Queiroz. For Queiroz, music\u00a0and the visual arts of the past are following\u00a0a similar trend. \u201cFrom the standpoint\u00a0of sound data, we are able to modulate\u00a0human hearing and transpose it into a\u00a0computational tool. We will soon have\u00a0the same sound synthesis that has been achieved in the past by using graphics\u00a0programs,\u201d states Queiroz. He alludes\u00a0to computer-generated simulations of\u00a0acoustic spaces, in which a group can be\u00a0heard in a room that does not even exist.<\/p>\n

\"Cesar

Public domain image<\/span><\/a> Cesar Villavicencio playing the hyperflutePublic domain image<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWorking on the M\u00f3bile project has\u00a0been a unique opportunity for us. For\u00a0the first time, we have succeeded in assembling\u00a0an interdisciplinary team of\u00a0scientists, artists, and technology, and art\u00a0students working together on research\u00a0in cutting-edge artistic production,\u201d says\u00a0Fabio Kon, also from the Department of\u00a0Computer Science at USP and a member\u00a0of the M\u00f3bile project. \u201cSince the project\u00a0began, we have sought to approximate\u00a0the artistic creation of cutting-edge\u00a0production technology and exploit the\u00a0synergies between these two forms of\u00a0knowledge. This is no small feat because\u00a0artists and technicians tend naturally\u00a0to work in isolation, but this project\u00a0has taken a first step towards changing\u00a0this. We are pleased with the results,\u00a0but there is still much to be done and\u00a0the road ahead is long,\u201d says Kon. He\u00a0also notes that \u201cthis is a unique way to\u00a0produce and disseminate knowledge that\u00a0does not fit into the traditional patterns\u00a0of research funding.\u201d According to Kon,\u00a0everything transcends musical studies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is much talk about technology\u00a0and machines as the opposite of human\u00a0beings, as though the soul of music was\u00a0sold for a penny. But to imagine that a\u00a0machine takes what is human in music\u00a0is to forget that nothing is more representative of human beings than the machines\u00a0we make,\u201d notes Iazzetta. Musicians\u00a0treat the relationship between\u00a0music and technology in terms of dependency\u00a0rather than in terms of symbiosis.<\/p>\n

According to Iazzetta, today\u2019s use of\u00a0technology is no longer essential as in\u00a0the early days of electroacoustical music.\u00a0Instead, it has become incidental.\u00a0Technology is no longer the focus and\u00a0can be used as a tool to create interest\u00a0and demystify the act of musical\u00a0creation.<\/p>\n

Project<\/strong>
\nM\u00f3bile<\/strong>: Interactive Musical Processes (N\u00ba. 2008\/08632-8<\/a>); Type Thematic Project; Coord.<\/strong> Fernando Iazzetta (USP);\u00a0Investment<\/strong> R$515,936.56 (FAPESP).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seeing sounds and hearing movements","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[248],"coauthors":[117],"class_list":["post-136738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-humanities","tag-music"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136738\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136738"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=136738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}