Emotional Machines - Composing for Unstable Media.

Thorolf Thuestad

Emotional machines – composing for unstable media. Thorolf Thuestad In partial fulfilment of PhD in artistic research The Grieg Academy, Department of Music, Faculty of Art, Music, and Design, University of Bergen, 2021 The artistic research project Emotional machines - composing for unstable media explores how non-representational kinetic objects may afford affective and emotional responses, in particular experiences of kinship and relation between an audience and animated objects. Further possibilities for artistic expression are opened through composition and dramaturgy, in works where the animated objects perform alongside human performers and other media, such as light and sound. How may such animated non-representational physical objects be developed? How does animating the physical objects change the potential for experience of kinship and relation between audience and object? How does context modulate the potential for experience of kinship and relation between audience and animated physical object? How does the potential experience of kinship with the animated object differ for the creator of the object, and audience? These questions have been investigated through the creation of a set of animated kinetic figures. These figures have performed in a series of artistic presentations such as gallery exhibitions and stage presentations. The artistic research concludes with two complementary public artistic presentations taking place in bergen in June/July 2021; a time-based stage production at Cornerteatret and a gallery exhibition at Lydgalleriet. The presentations are considered connected and have the common title For one – for many – for all. This is an exposition of the research that presents the kinetic figures, the process of developing them, the questions they have contributed to explore, resulting artistic works (with particular emphasis on the final artistic presentations taking place in June/July 2021), the additional artists contributing to these public presentations, and a series of reflections resulting from the research. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emotional machines – composing for unstable media Thorolf Thuestad. Denne eksposisjonen presenteres som del av gjennomføring av doktorgrad i kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid ved Griegakademiet, Institutt for musikk, Fakultet for kunst, musikk og design, Universitetet i Bergen, 2021. Emotional machines - composing for unstable media utforsker hvordan ikke-representative kinetiske objekter kan skape affektive og emosjonelle responser hos mennesker. Spesifikt opplevelse av slektskap og relasjon mellom et publikum og animerte objekter. Det åpnes ytterligere muligheter for kunstneriske uttrykk gjennom komposisjon og dramaturgi i verk der de animerte objektene opptrer sammen med menneskelige utøvere og andre medier, som lys og lyd. Hvordan kan animerte ikke-representative fysiske objekter utvikles med dette startpunktet som inspirasjon? Hvordan endrer animasjon av de fysiske objektene potensialet for opplevelse av slektskap og relasjon mellom publikum og objekt? Hvordan modulerer konteksten de animerte objektene presenteres i potensialet for opplevelse av slektskap og relasjon? Hvordan er den potensielle opplevelsen av slektskap med det animerte objektet forskjellig for skaperen(e) av objektet, og publikum? I Emotional machines – composing for unstable media har spørsmålene har blitt undersøkt ved hjelp av en gruppe animerte kinetiske figurer. Disse figurene har opptrådt i en rekke kunstneriske sammenhenger hovedsakelig galleriutstillinger og scenepresentasjoner. Prosjektet ble avsluttet med to utfyllende offentlige kunstneriske presentasjoner som fant sted i Bergen i juni/juli 2021: En tidsbasert sceneproduksjon vist på Cornerteatret og en galleriutstilling vist på Lydgalleriet. Presentasjonene er tilknyttet hverandre og har fellestittelen For one – for many – for all. Denne eksposisjonen presenterer de kinetiske figurene, prosessen med å utvikle dem, spørsmålene de har bidratt til å utforske, resulterende kunstneriske verk (med særlig vekt på de endelige kunstneriske presentasjonene i juni/juli 2021), kunstnerne som bidro til disse offentlige presentasjonene samt en rekke refleksjonstekster drevet frem av arbeidet med prosjektet.

Figure #15 and 16: Cables

Figure #15 consists of a steel rod held upright by a bracket suspended by steel wires with an 8mm hole allowing it to move freely vertically without the steel rod being lifted up or down.

The steel rod sits on the ground utilising a hollow shaft that slides onto a pivot joint, anchoring it while allowing the steel rod to tilt in any direction. The steel wires are connected to fast-moving 3d printed reducers driven by brushless DC motors in a closed loop system with winches that clamp on to a truss pipe. There are four wires, and by shortening some wires and elongating others using the winches, the suspended bracket's movement will cause the steel rod to tilt.

At the top of the steel rod, a small clamped on end-stop prevents the steel rod from sliding out of the suspended bracket. When tightening all four wires using the winches so that the suspension bracket reaches the end of the steel rod, it will hit this end-stop, and the steel rod will be lifted off the pivot joint and into the air. By shortening some of the four steel wires and elongating others, the steel rod can be moved freely in 3 directions in the space outlined as a cube between the floor and the four winches. The figure's reach can be quite extensive and depends on the ceiling height and dimensions of the area in which it is installed.

The central bracket suspended from the wires is equipped with carabiner hooks and the steel rod can be exchanged with a variable array of appendages.

Figure #16 differs by their appendages. The appendage is a figure in its own right (figure #19 – swimmer). It can be separated from figure #16, severing the symbiotic relationship.

The winches used to suspend the figures employ the O-drive motor controllers with the CUI high-resolution encoders.1 It is possible to disengage or reduce the power of the motors allowing a human performer to manually move the suspended figure. Each actuator’s position may then be read and mapped to other compositional materials such as sound, light, or movements made by other figures in a composition. In effect the human performer could then “play” other materials using the figure as an interface or instrument.

Within reach of each suspended appendage, 2x200 cm brackets hold steel plates. Set 2 cm over the ground, they are equipped with contact microphones so that if the winch moves an appendage so that it touches the plate, the sound is amplified.

There are two versions of the brackets. One is polished steel, the other has steel plates with a coarser structure. This results in a substantial sonic difference when the steel rod interacts.

Impetus

The motivation for creating figures #15 and #16 was initially an attempt at addressing the fact that the other figures are generally place-bound. I felt a need for the figures to be able to inhabit more of the space they may find themselves in, moving beyond being place-bound or only able to move along the floor (as is the case for figures #7 - #12). Figures #15 and #16 are able to move much greater distances and cover much more of a performance space both vertically and horizontally.

Depending on what is considered part of the figures, they are also more ontologically ambivalent. The winches suspended about could either be considered part of the figure or an outside force that causes movement. Even to me it’s unclear if the winches are part of the figure, if they are figures in their own right, or if their status transforms. when figure #16 sheds one of the appendages during the performance of a composition.

As the steel rod of figure #15 is pulled off its mount into the air, does it at that moment become two figures or is it the same entity? When I experience this happening, I generally regard the levitating steel rod as the figure and the ground mount as something left behind. Still, I assume this could be different for other observers.

The symbiosis between figure #16 and #19 investigates this ontological ambivalence. To me #19 is part of #16 when it is physically connected, moving as part of #16. When it is separated and continues on its own way, I see both a new figure and a part of #16 that has somehow separated physically. Figure #19 is both itself and part of figure #16. When they separate the link is not severed but yet a new figure emerges.

How figures #15 and 16 appear depends on the space they are in. The appearance, extent and movement range of the other figures is static, figures #15 and #16 scale themselves according to the space they are in since their movement range depends on the size of the room they are installed in. and also exchange parts of themselves. They are for me commenting on the nature of objecthood.

Tip

Tip

Figure #15 and 16: Cables

Impetus