Time Sculptures
Time Sculptures is an audiovisual performance by the Korean vocalist and audiovisual artist Ge-Suk Yeo.
Time Sculptures is based on a series of electroacoustic compositions.
Time Sculptures is basically about the phenomena of time we all experience at different speed. This is expressed through various rhythms which plays and overlaps at the same time. The rhythms get joined by other sound layers - different in character in every Time Sculptures episode. -
The slowly moving visuals drawing simple white light on black background are based on sound calligraphies, which use very simple lines, points and focuses on the empty space in between.
Time Sculptures I
Time Sculptures I focuses in this context on the 'rhythm' - a time structure of music, which denotes a sequence of durations and intervals. Rhythm can be used to create variations and diversity, and yet in its entirety, is able to span a link accros the whole piece of music.
In Time Sculptures I all the sounds and rhythms come from nature. In particular, the musical character of 'wood' and 'metal' gets investigated. Everything is played in a polyphony manner. The (video) graphics are organized on the contrary, very slow and stretched - but only at first glance. Looked at in detail, the moving pictures are also quite different and follow the natural chaos.
Time Sculptures I was 2005 published on the Hamburg based label ART.CappuccinoNet.com (ART 011).
Time Sculptures II
Time Sculptures II considers another aspect of the nature of time: the moment, one often not strictly defined section of the present - between the past and the future. Only at the moment - instant - we do exist and there is a past, a present and future. The moment is constantly exposed to a transient, which makes us aware of a time process, whose inner pulse should get significant through Time Sculputures II.
Times Sculptures II mimics the process of time by an artificial, through computer algorithms generated sound basis. The breathing of the time - from future to present to past - a constantly repeating process (... which actually is never repeated...) gets acoustically audible. In the background - sometimes close, sometimes far away, sometimes up, sometimes down - singing and voices are perceived.
The texts consciously cross path of the rather rhythmical character of the electroacoustic parts. Citations from a comparison of a figure of Buddha from 6th - 7th century, and Rodin's ‘The Thinker Man’ are used: Both figures represent the time flow from the past to the present into the future - as a process of thinking: 'Where do I come from?' and 'Where do I go to?', which is for Buddha the search for the nirvana, and for Rodin's 'Thinker in front of the Gates of Hell', in high tension, muscular, and yet internalized ponder over the deeds and destiny of man.
Musically Time Sculptures II explores metallic sounds. The basis are algorithmically generated melodic and colourful artificial sounds. The vocals come in their way of the rather rhythmical electroacoustic parts. – Depending on what metallic sounds you follow the piece will generate various feelings of time: One sound is chopped up, one goes a very long time, one stops from time to time.
Time Sculptures II got composed 2007 and revised 2008, the year the video animation was made.
Time Sculptures III
Time Sculptures III is about how time gets defined differently through the space. For this reason, Time Sculptures III explores time from the perspective of of 'underwater' and 'zero gravity in outer space'. It illuminates the contrast between the floating and weightlessness on the one side and the infinite speed on the other side. - All audio source material for Time Sculptures III is based on voice: heavily synthetically distorted and albeit barely detectable as voice.
Time Sculptures III was processed in the fall of 2007 as part of a residence at STEIM in Amsterdam, a center for research and development of tools and instruments for performers in the field of electronic performance arts.
Audiovisual Live Performance
Live presentation by Ge-Suk Yeo in Stereo or 5.1 possible. Presentation length can vary. Presentation of the whole cycle (Time Sculputures I-III) or just one of Time Sculptures episodes possible. The live presentation will include a video animation: The slowly moving visuals drawing simple white light on black background are based on sound calligraphies, which use very simple lines, points and focuses on the empty space in between. We will provide everything besides the Sound System (High Quality Speakers necessary).
5.1 Surround Sound
Production at STEIM, Amsterdam
Ge-Suk Yeo was invited as resident artist at STEIM from late September to early October 2007
as well as in July 2008.
Steim is a center for research & development of instruments & tools for performers in the
electronic performance arts based in Amsterdam.
http://www.steim.org
Ge-Suk Yeo live
Audiovisual live performance of Time Sculptures III
See Flickr Gallery of Ge-Suk Yeo's audiovisual live performance at the International Computer Music Conference ICMC 2008/ Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music at the Sonic Arts Research Center, Queen's University, Belfast, UK
Technical Data
scenes and duration
Time Sculptures I 23:40 (24:41 incl. credits)
Time Sculptures II 20:00 (21:21 incl. credits)
Time Sculptures III 20:00 (21:05 incl. credits)
Time Sculptures can be performed/screened as a complete 1 hour piece or just one part as a single 20 min piece.
animation technique
calligraphies: paint-brush and ink
original size: 21.0 x 29.7
digitalized and animated with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
After Effects and Adobe Premiere
sound technique
vocals and violoncello recorded at
ART.CappuccinoNet.com studio with
for sound creation
- SHURE PG14E/PG30 R10 HEADSET
to record vocals
- KORG KAOSS PAD 3
used with pitch to transform recorded sounds
- NATIVE INSTRUMENTS REAKTOR 5
for algorithmic sound generation
- TC ELECTRONIC POWERCORE FIREWIRE
to use some filters
- UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAD-1
to use even more filters
for mixing and mastering:
- STEINBERG WAVELAB 6.0
- TC ELECTRONIC POWERCORE FIREWIRE
- UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAD-1
animation technique
for Video work:
calligraphies: paint-brush and ink
original size: 21.0 x 29.7
digitalized and animated:
- Adobe After Effects CS3
- Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0
- Adobe PhotoShop CS 3
FeaturesAudio-PC
- Intel Core2TM Q9300 (Quadcore)
- 2x 3.6 GHz oder 4 mal 3.2 GHz
- 4 GB DDR2 RAM
- 3 Western Digital SE 16, 500 GB,16MBCache
- 1.5 Terabyte Harddisk
- 2 PCI Express 16x (Crossfire Ready)
- 3 PCI Express
- 2 PCI
- 10 USB2 Ports
Live audiovisual performance:
- Ableton Live/ Max for Live
- Vidvox VDMX, Quartz Composer
- STEIM JunXion
- iPod touch/ TouchOSC/ OSCulator
- Novation Launchpad
- Korg nanoKontrol, nanoPad
media
Screening copy:
DVD - [PAL, MPEG 2 , MPEG audio (MPEG 1 layer 2)]
playtime
65:00 min incl. credits
publishing year
2008
necessary hardware for live performance
1 x Stereo Speakers/ PA
(we provide you with Jack Outputs)
1 x beamer/screens (could be more!)
(we provide you DVI/ VGA Outputs)
1 x PC-Screen for performer
1 x Spot-Light for Performer
Atmospheric Stage Light – if available
Credits
- performance, concept, music, sound
calligraphies, video animation, vocals,
samples, mastering: Ge-Suk Yeo
- technical conception, studio engeneering:
Byungjun Kwon
- production, technical assistance: Bernhard Woehrlin,
IT.CappuccinoNet.com
- Thanks to STEIM, Amsterdam for support for
5.1 surround sound realization
- Thanks to http://www.hamburg-audio.de
for Audio PC, Soundcard and audiotechnical support.