Electric Arts Duo


The Electric Arts Duo is an intermedia performing arts ensemble composed of composer, clarinetist Burton Beerman and dancer, choreographer Celesta Haraszti.  The ensemble particularly incorporated interactive music and video technologies going back to the mid-80s, using such hardware as multiple slide projectors, color dyes dropped in water and projected on dancers with plastic projectors and Amiga Computers.

The clarinet processed its clarinet sounds with MIDI effects units, controlled with footpedals and a pitch-to-MIDI converter to drive MIDI voice modules with the sound of the clarinet.  Using Amiga Computers, the Duo worked in a Mandala Programming Environment.  This allowed the Duo to control both MIDI sound and video in a world in which a camera placed the live dancer in a computer constructed projected world.  Later the Duo replaced MIDI voice and effects modules with the multiple processor Capybara 320 sound design system from SymbolicSound using the Kyma  software.

The Duo incorporated the BodySynth in the 90s, a wireless sensor system that attached to the dancer at different locations on your body by Velcro.  The system uses a wireless guitar transmitter to send signals determined from her movements to a Bodysynth receiver.  The movements of the dancer then determined changing MIDI data as placed in a programming environment.  At first KeyKit  programming environment by Tim Thompson was used then the Kyma software was used with the Capybara 320.



More in this category: « Celesta Haraszti

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