No Ideas But in Things

Influences, , , ,

I love Alvin Lucier’s music. I still remember the strange mental state I experienced when I heard I Am Sitting in a Room for the first time in 2000. Watching No Ideas But in Things,  a recent documentary about Lucier, reminded me that, but also taught me a few new things about his work ethics and aesthetics:

1. Lucier knows, thinks, and composes acoustics. He is fond of how sound affects rooms, ears, electronics, and everything around. He is fond of converting invisible or inaudible things in our world into sounds. I resonate with his approach on music more than ever because I struggled to teach Musical Acoustics last semester.

2. A significant amount of his pieces are written for him, or other non-virtuoso solo performer (or no performer at all). I was happy to realize that I am following his path, as I am interested in developing solo electroacoustic repertoire for the past few years.

3. He is a good and experienced teacher.  I know that there are few things that I could only have learned and understood through teaching. I wonder what Lucier has learned from his students during his years at Wesleyan University.

I have met Lucier twice. The first was at a conference in 2006 where he was a featured artist. I was fortunate to talk to him at the hallway and get a sign on my I Am Sitting in a Room CD.

SignedLucier

The second instance was purely coincidental. I was at my favorite Chinese Restaurant in Philadelphia, and I found him eating a meal by himself a few tables away from me. I approached him and thanked for all his work, and he informed me that he is visiting Philly to present a concert. I cancelled all my schedules and went to see the concert where he played Opera with Objects (the first piece you see in the DVD trailer.

To end this post, I would like to share my take on I Am Sitting in a Room.

New Solo Set

Performances, ,

I am in the process of making a new solo set. My solo concert in the past two years involved a lot of found objects processed with computer.

Then, I fell in love with no-input mixer and analog synthesizer while I was doing the 100 Strange Sounds project. As I got more acquainted with analog instruments, it felt natural to try a performance involving more circuits and less objects.

The first attempt was done at the Asheville Electro-Music Festival in May 17. The “premiere” was exiting, but also revealed things to improve. Let me share what I observed and learned from the recording made by Project Ruori.

  1. The second half of the performance is better than the first half. Beside the sounds, compare my posture at 4:00 and 14:00. Fourteen minutes is a long time to get into the zone. I need more practice and confidence.
  2. I should use stage monitors in large rooms. For found object performances, I turned off the monitors for feedback issues. I realize that doing the same is not good for this kind of performance. The electronic instruments sounded too far and muffled.
  3. Ditch the speech intro. My intention was to gradually change my speech into music, but it did not work. I tried this in other occasions, but it did not work well, either. As my undergrad teacher advised to me, start the show with music.
  4. The cabbage intro needs more preparations. I was expecting this kind of visual and sound, but the vegetable did not crush well due to the poor choice of the cabbage and limited table space. Perhaps I should cut the cabbage a little bit prior to the performance?
  5. Electronics part could use a better dynamic change. Some transition to softer part sounded as mistakes. Perhaps this problem is related to my observation 1 and 2.
  6.  According to the audiences I talked to, the offstage  melodica ending worked well. I should try to end the set by eating the mutilated cabbage in smaller venues.

Please stay tuned for videos of my future performances. Feel free to comment/mail your suggestion to improve the sound and visuals. I expect to become comfortable with this set by the third or fourth show. I will prepare and practice, but some things are only learned from performing on stage.

jwPerfMode

Form+Code

Influences, , , ,

I’ll be teaching a course in algorithmic composition in Fall 2014. To prepare for this course and other projects, I decided to reread books on the subject during the summer. The first book I am revisiting is Form+Code in Design, Art, and Architecture by Reas, McWilliams, and LUST.

I learned about the aesthetics of generative and code-based art from this book. I enjoyed applying the ideas and concepts I have learned to my music. The book taught me how to think about composition in numbers and codes.

I am thinking about requiring students to read at least the first chapter of the book. The summary of the chapter includes some great sentences:

“Learning to program and to engage the computer more directly with code opens the possibility of not only creating tools, but also systems, environments, and entirely new modes of expression. It is here that the computer ceases to be a tool and instead becomes a medium.” (p25)

The chapter also mentions that using a computer in art reduces the production time, so the artists can use the extra time and energy to explore the procedure and structure. Coding in art also enables a person to customize and “hack” the tool. These ideas are easily applied to computer music.

I also like the chapter because it gives succinct definitions on algorithm and code. Algorithm is a specific instruction to do a task (p13). Code is an algorithm written in a programming language (p15). Thus, an algorithmic composition is a process of making music with specific instructions written for computer.

Here’s a simple example of such algorithmic compositions. Introvert has algorithmically generated computer accompaniment for live melodica player.  The computer part generates same chord progression, but the timing, volume, and octave position of each notes are chosen by the computer. This makes the computer part somewhat unpredictable, and makes the part unique for each performance.

Je Seok Koo

Collaborators, ,

I am fortunate to have many talented artist friends. They inspire me, and they do things that I cannot do. Je Seok Koo is an example of such friends. I was introduced to him when he came to The University of Arts in 2012. Over the past few years, Je Seok has become a versatile multimedia artist with an impressive portfolio. Here are some of the things he does exceptionally well.

1. He designs installations and musical instruments

2. He programs audio, and designs web. (Guess who designed my web?)

3. He and I play shows, and he makes living by doing his art (i.e. there are many people who needs his skills).  Check out his recent project with Beats By Dre.

As a technologist, Je Seok helps people (or groups) to do art. I have enjoyed late night discussion with him at a cafe in Philadelphia. We talk about music, codes, and gear. I think we need more people like Je Seok. Meanwhile, contact him at paused-room.com if you need to make an interactive Christmas tree or custom synthesizers.

Introduction

Announcement

profile2013

Hello,

My name is Joo Won Park. I am an electronic musician currently living in Philadelphia. I make music with computers, circuits, instruments, and any other objects that make interesting sounds. For example, here’s my recent project on making 100 videos of live electronic music:

www.100strangesounds.com

I am also a teacher of electronic music and composition. I have been teaching at the Community College of Philadelphia for six years, and I will be teaching at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music starting in September 2014.

I would like to use this blog as a place to share my works, influences, collaborators, technologies, and discoveries. If you wan to learn how I am made music with cabbage, tuning fork, no-input mixer,  and toy piano, please subscribe (there’s a button in the bottom-left corner) and visit me from time to time.  I would also be more than happy to communicate via email or social network.