EMPAC plus iEAR - Granular Synthesis/Kurt Hentschlager - Lux

The first of the EMPAC plus events

Renowned Austrian media art duo Granular Synthesis presents the North American premiere of Lux, an intimate- scaled, yet high intensity and visceral sound/video installation,. Artist Kurt Hentschlager will lecture on their work on November 19 at 8PM at West Hall. Installation will take place in West Hall 118. Lecture: $5/3 * Avant-garde video and sound artist collaborative Granular Synthesis will exhibit the U.S. premiere of "LUX" -- a breathtaking spectacle of sight and sound. Artist Kurt Hentschlager will lecture on their work on November 19.

"LUX"

audio-visual installation

LUX is the latest Granular Synthesis installation reflecting on the theme of technology as a "Second Nature," a body of work including <360> (2002), MINUS (2002), RESET (2001), and FELD (2000). The audience walks into a dark space, with a video projection on the opposite side of the space, constituting the single light source. Sound appears to be inherent to the image and vice versa. Both sound and image represent two qualities of one aesthetic creation. Any motion, change or reorganization of the visual and sonic formations function as a unified field, any modulations of the video in light and color, cause equal modulations in the sound. The sound, synchronized with the visuals, is a densely woven fabric with a high dynamic. The low end / bass is powered by a battery of subwoofers that spread an energetic rumble - and at times a slow pulse - evenly, rather than creating distinct sound events at localizable positions. The overall structure and length of the piece supports the perception of an endless continuum. The duration of the loop is approximately 20min. Hentschlager and Langheinrich, both in their late 30s, are based in Vienna, a city that in the past decade has emerged as one of the leading centers of electronic art. The artists say that it is Vienna's status as a kind of "urban museum" obsessed with historical preservation that has pushed them to explore virtual territories. The two began to work together in 1991, spurred by a desire to create audiovisual environments that would bombard spectators with sounds and images. "Our idea was to attack an audience, rather than to please it," Hentschlager says, "although we found out later that we basically entertained our audience much more than we expected." The artists took their collaborative name from the technique they employ to create their works. Originally introduced in computer music, "granular synthesis" is a computer-assisted means of organizing ultra-short bits of digitally recorded sound, or "granules," into larger patterns. For more information: http://www.granularsynthesis.info