Re: LOOPERS and VISUAL ARTISTS

[Bill Fox <billyfox@soundscapes.us>]

ArsOcarina@aol.com wrote:

> ...Do I really want
> to add another layer of technological goo and anxiety...?

For many of us, the answer is, "No."  But wouldn't it be great if you 
could dedicate a MIDI channel to the performance data that would get 
sent to a system that turns it into a visual performance.  Such a system 
could be, for example, a laptop running MAX that triggers video events 
that the connected projector displays on a screen above/behind you.

> Even though I am trained as a visual artist, when it comes to
> adding a background visual component to a performance I
> almost always leave that to someone else...

Exactly correct.  If you can't afford the time and expense to create and 
program a flawless system that will run unattended while you concentrate 
on the musical performance, then you need to off load one task to 
concentrate on the other.

> tI have an acquaintance
> who likes to make surrealist collages out of magazine images
> and photograph them to make slides. The images are pretty
> dopey at times but he is better at managing 2 or 3 projectors
> and doing all of the transitions than I would be. So . . . he's happy
> . . . I'm happy . . . and there's some visual "eye candy" for the
> audience and I don't even have to worry about it.

Many of us collaborate with other musicians to make bands.  Perhaps some 
of us should think about having a member of the band be a visual 
artist.  Partner with one whose work you admire and will ejoy working 
with your musical project.

> And then there's the rebellious curmudgeon in me that is sick and
> tired of feeling like I have to compete with television and/or Brittany
> whoever in an evermore AD/HD world.

We're all in that same boat as you are.  We must, unfortunately, accept 
how society is and deal with that reality.  How one deals with that 
reality can range from ignoring it to succumbing to it to fighting it in 
a constructive way, to going crazy.  By the way, I assume that AD = 
Attention Deficit.  What is HD?

Cheers,

Bill