Mathematics and Art! - Documentation

http://robtey-mathematics-art.blogspot.com/

Aural Terrains - Final Video Recordings

Final Aural Terrains Performance - Top View


Final Aural Terrains Performance - Close Up View

Aural Terrains - Final Audio Recording from Zoom H4N

Digital Sounds - Live Performance!

So today was finally the day to really demonstrate to a live audience and to our fellow class members the true progress we have made as individuals throughout the year and as team members of group as well. With presentation time at 5pm, we decided as a team to come in early to ensure that everything was up and running and ready for 4pm, the set up time designated to us by Zoe. So with that, we made sure that we were ready at 10am. With everything placed where we wanted we stored it at the art gallery for when the time came. And as a group we went out and determined what we could do to make our piece better while making sure we enjoyed ourselves for optimum performance for the arrival of the hour. And so as we bonded as a team the time came and it was time to show our performance. at 5pm, we watched Dylan host and groups perform one by one.. The pressure was initially there as it was a performance and it would be unnatural to not be nervous about something like this that had grades on the line. But of course we were still confident enough that we could meet the standards that she expected of us and so we did just that once it was our turn. We followed the schedule that we had set for ourselves in our group by following what parts we entered and left. By following what timing we had to and by naturally following what we planned in our practices. And with that done we came off from the performing area with a smile and hopefully a good mark in turn as well. And that was Aural Terrains for me and my group with Daniel Lee, Yoshin Naidoo and Versha Naidu.

Dress Rehearsal

Being aware that our designated dress rehearsal time was at 10am we woke up as per usual and came in as per usual any other class but today with one difference. we were eager to demonstrate to the rest of the class the level we were now at. Coming in early the session began slowly as we waited for people to drift in bit by bit and once the numbers were looking good we started preparing. In order to grasp how long it would take to set up, our group went first to set up from last to first to determine what equipment had to go where. This was due to our group being one of the last groups to have to perform. Once set up was done it was time to show a section of our piece group by group. Some individuals and groups chose not to show and leave it as a surprise while we decided of course to show how far we had come. And show we did. We believed that we did a good job worthy of tomorrow's live performance and now all that was left was to simply, perform.

Digital Sounds - Practice Session

Today was the day that we allocated as a means of a practice session for the group. So we collected together at 12pm in the Chroma Key Room ready to practice and ready to perfect our compositional piece. We spent out time locating what errors we needed to rectify and locating what sound moments were present in our piece. In an attempt to create the perfect soundscape we aimed to time our composition with a start, a body and a end like most songs. So what we did was assign each person a time to enter the piece and each person to leave the piece while the same person executed the first and the last sections of the composition. We had areas that indicated the introduction and the conclusion and we had a continuous beat in the background to determine the various speeds and timing that was present in the song while of course we aimed to maintain the digital sounds theme. Working hard we came out successful in our opinion but unfortunately as 1pm hit our time was up and we had to leave. However, despite how happy we were with our piece we weren't yet satisfied because we were aware of the possible height we were capable of amounting to so we set that as our goal and practiced furthermore. Initially we had no location for the practice but instead we decided on moving to Yoshin's house being the most spacious house, and we practiced in his garage until the day ended for us at around 6pm. And we were home, more than satisfied with our progress in the short time we had conceived and solidified our idea.

Digital Sounds - Pitch In

With at least the Math and Art Essay out of the way it was now time to dedicate all our efforts towards the Aural Terrains Project until Friday seeing as a we had a live performance in front of a real live audience. Meaning, we had to of course deliver something good for the audience to like. So taking in the compliment and criticism from last week's performance we knew we had to step up our game. We were keen on the idea still, but need more around it so as a team we discussed what we had to bring and what was needed before we found Zoe and pitched in the final idea to her. We wanted four stations, one for each person where everyone would have a different instrument to play at hand. One station was dedicated to the laptop where a robotic voice-over would be narrating the piece in the background. One station for a typewriter to emphasize digital sounds as it was typing it would give off a certain beat because, for every new line you would have to reset the typewriter. One for the circuit that we had before for the basic component of digital sound. And, another would be stationed with a Mobile Phone where we would use the static of a phone next to the speaker to produce the heavy beeping sound that is commonly heard from the interference of a phone and speaker. With that in mind we headed to Zoe and having now heard our idea Zoe immediately had a change of heart towards our progress and liked our direction. So with that we quickly requested a practice session in the Chroma Key Room at 12-1. And with a happy heart knowing we were going the right way with a solidified idea it was time to designate who needed to do what and who needed to bring what. Unfortunately not everyone had all the materials at hand so our job was to of course go shopping. We had the laptop, we had the circuit and we of course had mobile phones however we needed to go shopping for a typewriter but, unfortunately on our travels none revealed themselves to us. So it was now time to think up of something new for the now empty station and that was when we laid eyes on something new.. A Record Player. The disc could be scratched and reversed to create the warping sound, a song could be played in the background that matched our digital theme and of course we could change the speed on a record player for variation. This meant that the record player would be able to play as the base tempo for all of us to follow and fortunately enough for us Daniel already had a record player at home and of course everyone had stereos and speakers already from home too. And thinking ahead we also brought in a little stereo speaker for the static sound of the plug in on the finger by removing and adding the finger at intervals for static. So with all the shopping done, feet tired and ready to go it was home time to freshen our minds for practice tomorrow.

Mathematics and Art - Practical Project Essay (FINISHED!)

http://robtey.blogspot.com/p/mathematics-and-art-practical-project.html

Electronic sounds!

We had our idea decided upon yesterday or so we thought. With the help of Kim, he explained to us how we could solidify our idea to make it sound really good and what things we could include to enhance our performance. He brought on the idea of uniform to demonstrate our intentions while he explained the limitations of constraining our idea to simply communication so moved into Electronic sounds instead. Once presentation time hit many of us were pretty nervous to go up and present having to see what the other people constructed in the short time given. Criticized about the actual devices used to perform at hand we were disappointed however, we were complimented about a possible extent that our idea could truly produce and we decided to of course go on that so by Tuesday, the plan was to have a solid idea to pitch in that could be liked by all for our future live performance on Friday next week.

Electronic Sounds? - Communication?

So today was shopping day, or so we planned. We ran into a few issues with our initial idea and required a quick transition and idea. So what we ran into was Communication and how we could portray it and what better way than electrical sounds with the knowledge we already had from the previous week? So we went into circuit building only doing what we could limited to the time constraint of the time. So we had the ideas in mind now and a few circuit wires here and there inserted to our circuit boards. It was now a case of making sure it worked and that was our job for tomorrow morning. So we were all assigned a certain part in this performance of course. Daniel would be the vocal idea of communication. Yoshin and me would communicate back and forth with our two circuits. Versha would then communicate with audience help, having people turn their ring tones on she would text people as phones sounded around the room for effect. But I guess we've got tomorrow to see how that goes.

Metal Sounds

Another week which of course dictated the presence of another presentation/performance. As per usual we weren't confined to individual performances however, this time we were given the opportunity to be selective with group members. So with it finalized at this point it was me, Daniel Lee, Versha Naidu and Yoshin Naidoo. The concept we decided to run along was metal and the sounds that metal was capable of making from vibrations of metal to the very foundation of it from shaking and just simply banging objects onto it. So we listed and noted down what materials each person needed to obtain and what instrument each person had to fabricate. With that decided, on mutual agreement the plan was to return tomorrow to locate the materials and fashion our instruments.

Improvisation Workshop with Chris O Connor

Another week, and another sound experience to add to our banks of knowledge. Being informed to come into the class today with a sound maker of some sort I of course had that ready yesterday night. With that in my bag I attended our first lecture. He seemed like a really enthusiastic person which was a good boost to the class's attention. Feeling a bit like a kid again, not that it was a problem at all we participated in a series of games to keep us attentive. The first was a vocal game of harmony. Every person sung a note with the lights off, and upon hearing a note you liked and running out of breath you mimicked it. and sooner or later a harmonious choir could be heard at one point or another. The next game was the facial conductor, a single person, the 'conductor' stood in view of everyone and made facial expressions where we had to mimic that expression but at the same time create a sound based off the facial. So if the conductor had closed lips, we of course would have to mimic it through humming. And next was another game of sound, clapping. By retaining the beat in our head each person was assigned number one or number two. You were only allowed to clap on your number while the first number two in play determines the speed of the game through the interval of clap between him/her and the first number one. And soon we were given the opportunity to change numbers in between sticking to the rules of course. Keeping in time, not just jumping back from one and two back and forth, and the change had to be instantaneous from one to two and two the one, and the interval between swapping back to the original number required at least two claps first. With the games done it was time to do some real improvisation with what we had brought in with the sound makers. As a class we attempted with the sound makers we had to first create ambient sound, the nice quiet stuff. Then, the sweet spot by attempting to get the sharpest sound that our sound maker could produce. Lastly, the scribble, to go crazy and follow instincts by creating random noise of what we had that had no plan behind it much like a child's scribble on paper. An interesting day for me and one I probably won't soon forget. Music isn't simply the organization of bars to music but the art of making sound because all sound is and can be beautiful. The pitter patter of rain, the stomping of feet, the plucking of a guitar. Learning this has taught me much, sound isn't confined to instruments or vocals. Sound is everywhere and sound can be utilized whenever needed.

Circuit Bending - Final Day

So the final day was upon us, presentation day. We were assigned groups reasonably early on and I was working with Christine Marie Probert and Zoe Jamieson. Of course today we decided that we would meet up with our circuits and make something happen so it didn't all have to be impromptu. But unluckily enough we all had problems with our circuit at one point or another across the day. Like a little kid playing and tinkering with my circuit to see what sounds I could get from it when I knew I probably shouldn't have, the Piezo Disc decided to have a cry and break on me meaning it was back to the soldering labs yet again. A second home to me in university by this time already of course. So it was a case of soldering back the wires together so that sound could be heard and despite lacking the steady hands I managed to mend the broken Piezo Disc like brand new. So even though we planned to come together to ensure it didn't have to be an impromptu piece of course plans don't always work as planned. Zoe had managed to finish her circuit by the time we were ready but, Christine's circuit had a little malfunction, it didn't work despite working moments before finding our quiet room to practice. She got help from Simon from it before presentation but it was only up and running on presentation time so with that it was impromptu for us. Once we were up we did just that without and expectations of the type of feedback we were going to receive. But with the comments it seems like we did a good enough job. Another week down, with new information now stored into our brain.

Circuit Bending - Day 3

New circuit for the occasion of a new day, it looked easy of course, so we kept that sheet just in case we felt the need for having to make something of it. After attending the lecture, it was off to the soldering labs without hesitation. With new pieces in hand from my morning mission to buy them, I grabbed out my old over-soldered circuit board and got busy removing solder to put on the new battery and Piezo Disc. And finally I was done, all I had to do now was attach the battery and see how they would go with only a few burns along the way. And of course with my incredible luck, there was no sound. Having worked two days on this my only hope now was of course to go back to the drawing board or the breadboard in this case. So I attempted my hand at creating another circuit but a real sound maker this time. The sound Oscillator or what I believed I made hopefully I did it right but at this point I'm just glad I managed to finish something so with that it was now a case of heading in tomorrow early morning and sorting something out with my group for the presentation tomorrow.

Circuit Bending - Day 2

Another day, another circuit. Another day another lecture from Simon. Teaching us a bit more of what we needed know he left us with the task at hand. My task now was a case of reading the other circuit and attempting to get what we could for that, but of course it wasn't as easy as I hoped but by day's end I believe that I now knew what I needed to and directly headed for the soldering lab. Upon stepping in many solders were already busy sizzling on the spot making magic on green little circuit boards and it was now my turn to. Finding a seat I sat down with the sheet in hand and circuit in the other and attempted to replicate the magic that was going on all around me. Hesitant to start I looked around and asked for a bit of help, nervous to solder anything on by mistake this was of course my best bet. Once ready, brain full of the help I received already, I took the soldering wire, resistors and other wires in hand and got busy. Unfortunately for me today, I had to be done by 3pm for other commitments, but.. Despite having finished by the time the circuit refused to work for me. I had pulled too hard on the battery clip and a while came off, but despite ripping the battery clip top and soldering it back on it didn't seem to work much like my Piezo disc so I decided to have another hike up to Surplustronics early next morning to pay for more pieces.

Circuit Bending with Simon Cummings

Another day for sound, another lecturer brought in just for us. This time it was Simon Cummings and what he had to teach us was focused solely on the art of sound making and what better way to electronically produce sound than from the basics, the circuit itself. So Simon came in to teach us just that, buying the materials that we needed for class early in the morning with hike up to Surplustronics, we came in ready with all the pieces we needed and the first piece we were to work on was a bread board. A circuit board by all rights, but just a whole lot simpler without any need to solder anything whatsoever. Just a case of plugging in wires in the right fashion to create a sound. And of course it wasn't as easy as anticipated but through the course of the day and more group help from Kim I did manage to create my very first circuit based off the circuit 'The Champ.' A sound Amplifier, and it was a lot of fun to be able to go around amplifying whatever I felt like I've got to admit. The first of many circuits to go hopefully.

Maths & Art Essay - Solidification

So basically today, we came in today for the maths and art lecture then to attend a short group discussion with James as he helped us solidify our ideas. In all honesty, at this point I was completely at a lost for what creative practice I could possible use as a medium to express the idea of mathematics and art. At this point all I simply had was just ideas for mediums ranging from actual art paintings to music. But by the days end as James advised me, it was more of a case of just looking for something and trying to just do it rather than looking all over the place and changing my mind over mediums so for now I've decided to stick with Music and dedicate my time and effort to researching more about music to understand it further.

Original Recordings

(Car) Open Door & Close Door

(Panel-Beating) Hammering The Door

(Panel Beating) Sander

Branches (Like Burning Fire)

Construction Site Machine

Cracking Branches (Like Fire)

Crunching Branches

Elevator

Footsteps

Larger Water Volume

Largest Water Volume

Lighter

Small Water Volume

Starting The Car

Swaying Pen In Water

Till

Traffic Light

Aporee Website Link!!

http://aporee.org/maps/?loc=8220

Mapping Sound - Day 3

Today we had yet another day of discussion and music clips but this time around no 12pm lecture with another famous face so this way we were able to just jump straight into our project work which benefited us a lot more. So today after working hard I managed to finish my individual project and our group finished the group project. Funnily enough my individual resulted in being the longer composition. The group composition sits underneath.

What I aimed to portray in my composition was almost done through a means of a narrative with pauses for effect allowing listeners to absorb transitions. I began with a timeline demonstrating firstly, nature in all its glory as the leaves cracked underfoot with volumes of water gradually increasing beginning from an initial water swaying. All in between the the sounds of a lighter and what sounds like fire in the background to exaggerate nature.
As a pause was demonstrated we moved into metal works with the sounds of building noises beginning from the simple hammer, to the sander to the heavy machinery all the while the footsteps of man sounded in the background as nature had almost faded as the feet traveled across not leaves but concrete. And ending with the sounding of a traffic light for the pedestrian, the opening and closing of a door and the sound of a car engine starting proposing that this piece was still unfinished and going places almost like a hook.
During the natural clips a slow interval can be picked up when the water volumes are changing to demonstrate the gradual change of nature. But, during the industrial clips the intervals between each tool and machine is quicker to show how fast the industry is evolving.
However one thing that demonstrated true transition was the use of an elevator for each transition. The track sounds with "ground level" as we start the track as nature moves in. Then.. We move into "Level 8, going up" as a cash register sounds to demonstrate technology and industry coming in but still going up. And finally finishing with a "Level 12, going up" Right before the car engine starts after the pedestrian crossing to show that there is more yet to come.
This is all demonstrated in my clip underneath, enjoy!