Painting pictures with notes on a scale is a new artistic medium. Jack Ox, University of New Mexico professor and former New Orleans resident, has been doing this for years, with personal metaphorical visions and the transition of those visions from color pencils to a computer screen. Ox talked to a small room of composer students Wednesday afternoon as part of the Center for Computation and Technology’s “Computing in the Arts and Humanities” lecture series. Her lecture was a showcase combining music with a visual stimulus that includes color and pictures, all chosen by Ox, and then laid out visually by her metaphorical comparisons. These comparisons are her own artistic vision. For example, she created a landscape of colors and textures based on an actual New Mexico landscape. Sometimes it’s as simple as a set of rocks reminding her what a certain family of rocks looks like. Ox has taken famous compositions and given them a computer 3-D shape. With the “Gridjam” project she is currently working on, she wants to take those visual images and sounds and present them as an orchestra, for others across the globe to exhibit and play. The point to this, she said, is to have performers see what their peers are playing while in different states and countries. She said it’s a way for all the musicians to play, and not be in the same room. Variations in color and size depend on pitch, texture and the instrument being played. Ox has even created color wheels based on compositions. “If something is louder, then you will see a larger image,” she said. “When something is softer, you will see a smaller image.” She said her choices in colors are affected by the timbre. Timbre is the visual color people will think of or see when listening to music. This can vary slightly from person to person. Variations in the sound produce variations in color, whether light or dark. Sometimes the visuals are a mixture of color schemes on the wheels she created. Ox still likes to start her visuals with free hand and move them to the computer, but she said she doesn’t have much of a studio she once had. “I want the images to come through my body,” she said. “It’s important for making richness and depth to it.” The University is preparing to take part in this project next year. The National Lambda Rail is a national optical cable network currently being used for the project. “The network can connect all resources and researchers faster,” said Kristen Sunde, CCT public relations manager. While Ox would like to see others use the program she is working on, she would not like others to change what she has created. With the use of the NLR and its optical cables, more than just music can be affected. Benjamin Eckel, computer science senior, said optical cables transfer information at the speed of light, so things can be seen in real time across the Web. Eckel wants to see the optical aspect of technology behind “Gridjam” experimented with for research and not for data transfers with entertainment media. “I can see it being used for live mediums of plays and different performances,” he said.
—-Contact Adam Pfleider at [email protected]