Collaboration
Through the month of September, artist Neil Johnston will collaborate with
composer Jeremy Wagner at the Nina Bliese Gallery in a dynamic performance
piece combining the actions of painting and making music.
First Wagner will assign certain color values to musical tones,
expressed as guitarlike sounds. Then as Johnston paints,
his brushstrokes will be captured on webcam, transmitted to Wagner’s computer,
which in turn will “translate” the language of painting to that of music.
The software, written by Wagner, has the capacity to interpret direction and intensity,
as well as hue. Additionally, the tones produced by the computer will
evolve as Johnston canvas changes, so the work comprises an actual dialog.
Wagner’s computer will respond to Johnston’s actions in eight-second cycles.
|
 |
| Neil Johnston |
|
|
 |
| Jeremy Wagner |
|
|
At the Nina Bliese Gallery, the audience will see Johnston’s brush strokes in real time
and hear the computer-generated sound those strokes create, while the sounds
will simultaneously be transmitted to Johnston for his response.
It is expected that Johnston will develop control over this new medium over time.
But, like jazz, improvisation is the essence of the work.
Wagner sees Johnston’s eventual role as being akin to a musician
performing on stage in a group. He can add to the performance
with the computer playing the role of the other musicians.”
|
Each of Johnston’s daily painting “performances” will last no longer than twelve minutes
and every day Johnston will deliver a completed canvas to the gallery,
where it will fit into a chronological grid on view in the South Sixth Street window.
The gallery will also replay the daily performance on film,
visible both inside and from outside on 6th street.
|
The exhibitions will culminate in a closing reception on Thursday, October11,
from 5:00-8:00 p.m. The resulting suite of paintings will be displayed
and the artists will be present to discuss the collaboration at that time.
Below is the link to the various finished video performances
Documentation of the work—consisting of twenty original paintings,
a CD-ROM of the resulting music, and a DVD of the combined performances—
will be available for purchase.
|
|
