GlobalThreads

Global Threads, a virtual faculty for art and science, is an international project of presentations by artists and scientists over a high-bandwidth forum for the MARCEL Network. The following events are schedule this month, October, during Resonances-2003 organized by IRCAM, Georges-Pompidou Centre

http://resonances.ircam.fr/date.php3?id_mot=50&langue=en

The following talks will be transmited over the Access Grid platform being used by several MARCEL members. <www.accessgrid.org>

Where: Access Grid – MARCEL Room Addresses: video 233.2.171.146/59562 audio 233.2.171.146/59564

INSTRUMENT/COMPUTERINTERACTION History and Speculation

When: Monday 20 octobre 2003, 17:30 to 19:00 GMT

Who: Jean-Claude Risset (composer)

A pioneering composer of computer music, Jean-Claude Risset began exploratory work in the 1960s. He is most well known as one of the principal pioneers of computer sound synthesis along with Max Mathews and John Chowning. In his Virtual Faculty lecture he will talk about music, illusions, auditory and visual deception.

MAX SOFTWARE History and perspectives in live performances.

When: Tuesday, October 21st 2003, 17:30 to 19:00 GMT

Who: Miller Puckette (inventor of Max and professor at the University of San Diego, David Zicarelli (developer of Max/MSP software and director of Cycling'74, at IRCAM), Norbert Schnell (responsible of the Ircam Real Time Application Team, at IRCAM).

MAX, invented at IRCAM in the middle of the eighties and up till now licensed by Cycling'74, keeps on establishing itself as the world standard of musical interactivity. Its history and present evolution will be analyzed in the light of recent musical and multimedia projects.

PROGRAM About Modularity

A modular system gives you a set of pieces -building blocks- that fit together. The idea is simple and universal as children's toys. Modular systems reflect a view of the world in which there is no single right answer. I believe this is ideal when applied to music and art, where there exists an infinite space of possibilities for creativ eexpression. But just as many solutions are possible with a modular system, many dimensions of modularity are also possible. In other words, many ways of dividing up the world into components and many ways of systematizing their interconnection.

I will provide examples of "modular thinking" as it has been practiced in my little corner of the world, using Max/MSP and related technologies. I will also suggest some of the newer dimensions of modularity that I want to explore in the future. Finally, I want to contrast the modular and non-modular (what I call "rationalized")approaches, identifying where each is strongest. The answer is paradoxical : a modular system is best for building a non-modular system, and vice versa.