Blur/Ear 8.15.03

Solo performance by Elise Kermani

Placing a warm human body in the electronic digital matrix - the body as a trigger as well as an interference of the electronic/digital signal.

I set up a technical matrix in which infrared and light wave sensors input movement data into my computer, and then let go of the results. The performer (and viewer) activates and finishes (awakens) the piece

Photo from the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, July 2003 *

Residual artifacts of digital culture/digital art interest me, such as the ‘jaggies’ of jpeg images that are layered on top of each other in the "Onadime" live processing software program that I created for the Blur/Ear performance.

Video stills from rehearsal of Blur/Ear

 

The source image for the performance is horizontal rows of colorful stripes created by hand in Photoshop:

 

The source sound clip is a .10 second loop infinitely repeating.

Then I have the visual image move up and down according to the change in audio frequencies.

 

I further process and ‘move’ the image by the infrared sensor which detects change in body ‘heat’ on stage (i.e. the performer). The performer’s body triggers a rotation and transparency of the image:

 

and eventually distintegrates the image altogether:

 

 

Additionally, the sound is projected from wireless speakers so that the performer creates a ‘perceptual’ change in the sound according to the direction of the speakers and her position on stage:

 

Photo from the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF) *

 

 

Blur/Ear may also be installed after the performance in a small room with white walls as an installation in which the viewer triggers ‘change’. The source material is intentionally stripped down to essential elements so that one can observe the digital artifacts.