------ - --- UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL IMPROVISATORY LIVE VISUALS: PLAYING IMAGES LIKE A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ART STUDIES AND PRACTICES BY KATHERINE LIBEROVSKAYA SEPTEMBER 2014 UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL Service des bibliothèques Avertissement La diffusion de cette thèse se fait dans le respect des droits de son auteur, qui a signé le formulaire Autorisation de reproduire et de diffuser un travail de recherche de cycles supérieurs (SDU-522 - Rév.01-2006). Cette autorisation stipule que «conformément à l'article 11 du Règlement no 8 des études de cycles supérieurs, [l 'auteur] concède à l'Université du Québec à Montréal une licence non exclusive d'utilisation et de publication de la totalité ou d'une partie importante de [son] travail de recherche pour des fins pédagogiques et non commerciales. Plus précisément, [l 'auteur] autorise l'Université du Québec à Montréal à reproduire, diffuser, prêter, distribuer ou vendre des copies de [son] travail de recherche à des fins non commerciales sur quelque support que ce soit, y compris l'Internet. Cette licence et cette autorisation n'entraînent pas une renonciation de [la] part [de l'auteur] à [ses) droits moraux ni à [ses] droits de propriété intellectuelle. Sauf entente contraire , [l'auteur] conserve la liberté de diffuser et de commercialiser ou non ce travail dont [il] possède un exemplaire. » -------~~------ ~ - UNIVERSITÉ DU QUÉBEC À MONTRÉAL LES VISUELS LIVE IMPROVISÉS: JOUER DES IMAGES COMME D'UN INSTRUMENT DE MUSIQUE THÈSE PRÉSENTÉE COMME EXIGENCE PARTIELLE DU DOCTORAT EN ÉTUDES ET PRATIQUES DES ARTS PAR KATHERINE LIBEROVSKAYA SEPTEMBRE 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral thesis wou Id ne ver have been possible without the priceless direct and indirect help of a number of people. First and foremost, 1 owe my deepest gratitude to my advisor Professor Louise Poissant for her guidance, support and encouragement, from the initial phases to the final steps of the long process that the research and writing of this study has turned out to be, always showing enthusiasm for my work and trust in my ability to bring it to completion throughout my many moments of doubt and discouragement. My immense gratitude also goes to my external co-advisor, Professor Emeritus Bernard Gendron, whose philosophical wisdom and challenging spirit of inquiry always brought new insights and perspectives when it seemed like my ideas were going in circles. 1wish to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to my childhood friend Alice C. E. Bauer who so graciously accepted to be my first reader when this thesis was but a draft. She provided me with the first impression of my work from the point of you of someone completely unrelated to Live Visuals and who knows very little about the field. The fact that she found it interesting at ali was at the time extremely reassuring and ali her comments and revision suggestions were incredibly instructive and helpful. 1also wish to thank my friend and collaborator composer Al Margolis for going over an early version of my work and providing several precious comments and suggestions based on his experience and knowledge of experimental music. My collaborators for the practice component that goes with this thesis, composers Phill Niblock and David First, need to be warmly thanked for their participation in my project and for their patience with ali the bureaucratie details involved for its presentation. iv 1 must acknowledge as weil the kind support of close friends, Sylvie Thurber, Laurence Vale, Bastien Gilbert, Keiko Uenishi, Judith Vienneau, Marie-Hélène Parant, Jim Bell, among many ethers, who were so important often by just getting me away from work for pleasant interludes or by lending a sympathetic ear to my doubts and advising me not to give up. 1 cannet thank enough my beloved mother Helen Koshits-Lebedeff for her continuai moral support. My thanks must go too to my aunt Marina Kartashov. Both were always there for me ali through the time it took to complete this thesis and helped me in so many small and big ways. Finally my heartfelt thanks goes to my partner Phill Niblock for believing in me and bearing with me for better and worse throughout the ups and downs of the demanding process of this undertaking. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................. v SUMMARV ...................................................................................................... ix RÉSUMÉ EN FRANÇAIS .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Background and Subject ...................................................................................... 1 Purpose ...... ............................................................................................................ 5 Structure .......................................................... ...................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: CONTEXTUALIZATION .................................................................................. 8 1.1 Terms ................................. ............................................... ....... .. .. .... ................. 8 1.2 Scope and Limits ........................................................................................... 10 1.3 Theoretical Approach ............................................... .................................... 11 1.4 Methodological Approach ............................................................................ 19 CHAPTER Il: VISUALS AS VISIBLE MUSIC: FROM VISION TO REALITV ...................... 27 2.1 Scientific Theories of Correspondence ...................................................... 28 2.2 The first Color Organ Concept.. ................................................................... 29 2.3 A Development Shaped by the Evolution of Lighting .... .. ......................... 31 2.4 Liberation From Romant ic Form ...................................................... .. .......... 33 2.5 Playing Co lors Just Like Playing Music ............ .. .... ... ..... .................. ....... ... 35 CHAPTER Ill: MUSIC AND VISUALS AS SEPARATE ENTITIES: THE SPIRIT OF INTERMEDIALITV ......................................................................................... 39 3.1 Total Movements ................................................................................. .. ........ 40 3.2 Film as Chromatic Music .............................................................................. 43 3.3 Moholy-Nagy ..................................................... .. ........................................... 44 3.4 Oskar Fischinger ............ .. ...................... ............... ........................................ 45 3.5 Fischinger's Legacy in the U.S .................................................... ............. ... 48 3.6 lmprovising to a New Jazz ............................................................................ 51 3.7 Approaching Projections as Composition .............. ..... ..................... .......... 54 vi 3.8 Spheres of lnter-dispersed Sounds and Visuals ....................................... 58 3.9 Media Mixes ................................................................................................... 64 3.10 Mixed Technologicallmmersion ................................................................ 69 3.11 Video Explosion .......................................................................................... 73 3.12 Control by Voltage ...................................................................................... 76 3.13 Images from Electric Current ..................................................................... 82 3.14 Performing with Signais ............................................................................. 89 CHAPTER IV: POLYSENSORY FUSION: VISUALS AS EXTENSIONS OF MUSIC ........ 101 4.1 Liquid Lights- A West Coast Flavor .......................................................... 102 4.2 East Style Light Shows ............................................................................... 106 4.3 lnevitably Plastic ......................................................................................... 108 4.4 Early Rock Theatrics: European Psychedelic Aesthetics ....................... 111 4.5 Post-Punk Multi-Media ................................................................................ 118 4.6 Dance Floor Visuals .................................................................................... 127 4.7 Scratching the Surface of Television ........................................................ 130 4.8 Ecstatic Tools and Techniques: Rave Culture ......................................... 133 4.9 Group Dynamics ........................................................... ....... ........................ 138 4.1 0 Hard and Soft lnto the Present ................................................................ 145 4.11 Tools for Artists by Artists ....................................................................... 151 4.12 Live Visuals i nto the Future ..................................................................... 156 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................