QUANTUM FRAME
LITTLE SOUND MACHINES
LITTLE SOUND MACHINES
2019 -
2018
2018
The Quantum Frame is a mechanical installation that speculates on the future of quantum computing and what that may hold for machine intelligence and consciousness. The installation takes the form of the present day quantum computer, with a tubular central chamber, where machine learning data drives the mechanical movements of an electromagnetic structure, breathing life into the metallic framework, a ghost in the machine.
The current version of the frame is self-generative. But the artist hopes that once time-sharing of the quantum computer is open to the general public, that the installation may be able to talk with the quantum machine directly via data transfer.
This piece is currently on-going. Magnetic field experimentation and research with ferrofluid are currently in--progress.
The Little Sound Machines is a sound installation consisting of a series of both mechanical and digital machines that are connected to an AI network. Three AIs form the central brain of the network. Through learning from and influencing each other, the AIs construct the musical phrases that are then played out through a series of sound-generating machines. The music generated by the AI is also presented on a series of television screens that visualizes both the AI data and audio, as well as machine logic and behavior to the audience.
This piece proposes a new mode of music creation in the age of intelligent machine. Through experimentation, the artist presents an exploration of new musical interfaces that erases the composer from the equation, to present a purely machine-made performance.
The Little Sound Machines are made from found objects, up-cycled and spare parts.
The Little Sound Machines is a sound installation consisting of a series of both mechanical and digital machines that are connected to an AI network. Three AIs form the central brain of the network. Through learning from and influencing each other, the AIs construct the musical phrases that are then played out through a series of sound-generating machines. The music generated by the AI is also presented on a series of television screens that visualizes both the AI data and audio, as well as machine logic and behavior to the audience.
This piece proposes a new mode of music creation in the age of intelligent machine. Through experimentation, the artist presents an exploration of new musical interfaces that erases the composer from the equation, to present a purely machine-made performance.
The Little Sound Machines are made from found objects, up-cycled and spare parts.
LITTLE SOUND MACHINES
2018
The Little Sound Machines is a sound installation consisting of a series of both mechanical and digital machines that are connected to an AI network. Three AIs form the central brain of the network. Through learning from and influencing each other, the AIs construct the musical phrases that are then played out through a series of sound-generating machines. The music generated by the AI is also presented on a series of television screens that visualizes both the AI data and audio, as well as machine logic and behavior to the audience.
This piece proposes a new mode of music creation in the age of intelligent machine. Through experimentation, the artist presents an exploration of new musical interfaces that erases the composer from the equation, to present a purely machine-made performance.
The Little Sound Machines are made from found objects, up-cycled and spare parts.
BENJAMIN BACON
Benjamin Bacon is an inter-disciplinary artist, designer and musician that works at the intersection of computational design, networked systems, data, sound, installation and mechanical sculpture. He is currently tenured Associate Professor of Media and Art and the Director of Signature Work at Duke Kunshan University. He is also a lifetime fellow at V2_ Lab for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
He has held positions in a number of universities. These include: Assistant Professor of Computational and Media Design at Parsons School of Design, Director of BFA Design & Technology at Parsons School of Design, Director of Technology at the Parsons Institute for Information Mapping, Assistant Professor of Art at New York University Shanghai, Foreign expert and Professor of Computational and Media Design at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art (SIVA), Adjunct Professor and Thesis Advisor at Roy Ascott Technoetic Art Program at Detao (SIVA). Additionally, he has held a two-year research position at Nokia Research Center Asia – Growth Economies Lab between Beijing and Shenzhen. He is currently the research lead of the XResearch Cluster at V2_Lab for the Unstable Media.
He has exhibited, performed, and presented his work in the USA, Europe, Iran, and China at venues such as the National Art Museum of China (Beijing), Gallery Ho (NYC), Wave Gotik Treffen (Germany), Chelsea Museum (NYC), Millennium Museum (Beijing), Plug-In Gallery (Switzerland), Beijing Design Week, Shenzhen Bay Science Technology and Arts Festival, the Shanghai Symphony Hall, and Art Laboratory Berlin. Most recently, his mechanical life and AI sculpture PROBE - AVERSO SPECILLO DI DUCENDUM was commissioned and collected by the UNArt Center in Shanghai, China.
He is co-founder of the Design, Technology, and Radical Media Labs (DTRM) with Prof. and artist Vivian Xu, research lead of the XResearch Cluster at V2_Lab for the Unstable Media (Netherlands), and research associate at the Institute of Applied Physical Science and Engineering (IAPSE) at Duke Kunshan University. He is also the co-founder of DOGMA Lab, a trans-disciplinary design lab based in Shanghai, China. In 2012, he co-founded RAWR! Lab with industrial designer Naihan Li, a design incubator based in Caochangdi, Beijing. RAWR! Was the event and production partner of Beijing Design Week Caochangdi in 2012.
You can find more information at Benjamin Bacon | Scholars@Duke.