LO4: FORMS!

FORMS – String Quartet, 2021 https://vimeo.com/553653358?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=7721912

FORMS is a live event where musicians interpret and play scores that are randomly generated by a bot in real time. Each instrument corresponds to a certain color, displayed on screen, and the result is a comprehensive piece combining both randomized audio and visual elements. I think this piece piqued my interest because recently I’ve been toying with the idea that certain movements “lock” and “unlock” events that occur. There’s specifically a video piece that I’m working on at the moment in which a specific twist of the wrist prompts a four minute long rendition of “One Day More” from Les Mis performed by hand puppets. While this is certainly not random, I think the ideas are pretty analogous, especially in terms of audio/visual component, and especially in the way that a random notation is able to elicit a programmed response. In terms of how this (FORMS, not Les Mis puppetry) functions algorithmically, it seems pretty clear that a series of shapes are randomly notated, each with a corresponding color, and likely shifted in positionality to notate rests, changing of notes, etc. Because there are so many (infinite) shapes, and notating a specific number would perhaps be unwise for practicality reasons, it might be possible that for loops were utilized? Don’t quote me on that, but I think otherwise the work would be quite tedious.