Vector Synthesis: a Media Archaeological Investigation Into Sound-Modulated Light
VECTOR SYNTHESIS: A MEDIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION INTO SOUND-MODULATED LIGHT Submitted for the qualification Master of Arts in Sound in New Media, Department of Media, Aalto University, Helsinki FI April, 2019 Supervisor: Antti Ikonen Advisor: Marco Donnarumma DEREK HOLZER [BLANK PAGE] Aalto University, P.O. BOX 11000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi Master of Arts thesis abstract Author Derek Holzer Title of thesis Vector Synthesis: a Media-Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light Department Department of Media Degree programme Sound in New Media Year 2019 Number of pages 121 Language English Abstract Vector Synthesis is a computational art project inspired by theories of media archaeology, by the history of computer and video art, and by the use of discarded and obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor. This text explores the military and techno-scientific legacies at the birth of modern computing, and charts attempts by artists of the subsequent two decades to decouple these tools from their destructive origins. Using this history as a basis, the author then describes a media archaeological, real time performance system using audio synthesis and vector graphics display techniques to investigate direct, synesthetic relationships between sound and image. Key to this system, realized in the Pure Data programming environment, is a didactic, open source approach which encourages reuse and modification by other artists within the experimental audiovisual arts community. Keywords media art, media-archaeology, audiovisual performance, open source code, cathode- ray tubes, obsolete technology, synesthesia, vector graphics, audio synthesis, video art [BLANK PAGE] O22 ABSTRACT Vector Synthesis is a computational art project inspired by theories of media archaeology, by the history of computer and video art, and by the use of discarded and obsolete technologies such as the Cathode Ray Tube monitor.
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