Stemming from the workshop Audio Art/Modular Synthesis 02, Modular Conception and Creation (November 2017), Modular Synthesis 03 is designed for advanced practitioners, with a focus on spatial installation of sound artworks using synthesis, transformation and modular control-based approaches. In this era of ubiquitous digital technology, a remarkable number of practices and techniques from the past have resurfaced in the form of software, plug-ins, and, especially, dedicated circuits designed for portable sound capture, generation and processing, allowing for a hands-on approach to sound material.This shift has brought with it a return to modularity, be it for sound design, studio composition, performance and, increasingly, sound installations.
Why become interested in modulars now? The answer is simple: modular philosophy implies a realignment and fusion between, on the one hand, sound and sound signals, and, on the other, control signals and modulation. In this workshop, we will explore the possibilities of generative audio, organic creation and spatialization for audio art installation systems. We will especially focus on bringing together modular thought and our relationship with apparatuses, installation and spatial arrangement.
Emphasis will be placed on the following themes:
- Modulars as an encounter-based practice: systems combination, use of external data, sensors, online data, sonifying reality, etc.
- Modular thought in general, with or without computers; its contact with external elements.
- Exploring and putting into practice sound installation concepts: control signals as related to material, sculptural elements, envelopes, actions, microscopic and macroscopic timescales.
- Integration of acoustic phenomena in order to sustain and embody the sense of a sound installation.
- Sensors/natural phenomena (water, fire, metal, velocity, friction); using sources for sensors, hydrophones and contact microphones, converting them to control voltages.
- Conceptualizing and putting into practice spatial environments for modular control.
- Conceptualizing and putting into practice control combinations; generating complexity and subtlety.
- Building bridges between digital/computer-based creation and analogue/material-based creation.
- Modular synthesis with affordable tools! Small kits and extensions via computer-based applications.
An example of the type of technological approach to be explored in this workshop:
- KOMA Field Kit, Field Kit FX BASTL:
- Solenoid Motor – 4 channel trigger to Solenoid interface
- Solenoid Expander – adds CV inputs for pulse width per channel
- Servo Motor – 2 channel CV / Gate to Servo Motor interface
- DC Motor – 2 channel bipolar CV to DC motor interface
- Sense – analog sensor calibration module
- Patch for a self-generating installation with integration of live audio (example: VCA modulation of input mic capturing sound from another room via EXPERT SLEEPERS ES 8); live modular sources controlled by sensors/movement detectors in the gallery.
The workshop will close with a tour of collaborative and individual installations created by the participants.
> The workshop will be offered in French, both instructors are bilingual and will answer questions in English.
Prerequisites
- Be a professional artist, creator or cultural worker;
- Knowledge of the principles and hands-on composition experience of modular synthesis is an asset;
- Be a self-employed worker or a salaried employee in an enterprise not subject to 1 % Training Investment*;
- Attend every workshop session.
Number of participants: maximum 8
Registration period: Tuesday to Friday, until October 19
Call or email the New Media Lab: 514-844-3250, ext. 230 or lab@oboro.net.
Cost: $180 (taxes included)
*NEW! Two spots are now available for employees of companies that are subject to the 1% Law. Please contact us for more details.
POLICY
Reservation / Payment
Reservations can be done by phone or email. Full payment must be made for reservations to be valid. You can pay by credit card (Visa or MasterCard), cheque or in cash. Registration to a workshop is not transferable.
Cancellation / Refund
OBORO does not refund registration fees except in case of illness (with a medical note) or of absolute necessity. In such cases, registration fees are transferable to another workshop or service offered by the New Media Lab.
Workshop Cancellation
OBORO reserves the right to cancel workshops at any time and without advance notice. In this case, registration fees are completely refunded.
Video by Philippe-Aubert Gauthier