Come witness Kevin Blackistone performs with his hostile improvisation interface that punishes its user based on predictability of the performance. Opening for the night are solo sets by max/msp/excel live coder Alexander Wu and local synth wizard Dan Deluca!
Kevin Blackistone (US/AT) is an transdisciplinary media artist and researcher using immersive, tangible, participatory and performative elements as tools for exploratory engagements. His current focus investigates the networks of cross-interactions between our human organism(s), its habitats & inhabitants, and their technological interrelations from cultural, medical and ecological perspectives.
In this performance, Kevin Blackistone presents his latest project using the concepts of hostile architecture in its relation to adversarial software architectures, and the improvisations they require as a basis to consider interventions that directly interfere with the intent of a musical performer. Specifically, it uses a combination of biosensors and audio analysis to live learn, and make predictions on, performative direction in order to punish the performer for predictable improvisations through electroshock. These systems will analyze performative style through electromuscular, temporal, and spectral analysis. Meanwhile, the artist will try to build electronic noises, melodies, rhythms and textures that are performatively coherent, while simultaneously attempting to fight the algorithm to create only sound/motion patterns that are deemed novel. This set must balance the pain-based feedback of the electronic antagonist against a desire to perform particular structures and the interest in penal avoidance. This “man vs machine” performance brings the energy and frustration of orchestrating novel interactions around corporate and governmental interventions such has hostile architecture, and algorithmic profiling to the stage. The musician must find evasive improvisations to satisfy the self, the algorithm… and ultimately… …the audience.
