Organisms and Biosystems
Action Potential
Action Potential is a new media work giving voice to human free will. It uses repurposed biomedical tools to explore the physiological difference between intentional and unintentional movement, and re-presents that difference as live sound-art.Volitional movement is produced as a result of conscious choice. Torino:Margolis et al detect this expression of free will and transform it into sound.
Electromyography (EMG), a method of sensing electrical potentials generated during voluntary action, is used to sense a performer's intentional movement. A wireless radio interface transmits that extracted information to software for audio processing. A second performer then physically manipulates the connected performer, such that the physiological difference between volitional and non-volitional movement is illustrated through sound and silence.
In this way, "Action Potential" seeks to present, and give voice to, human free will.
OrganIsm
OrganIsm is an annual event devoted to art made with living systems.Action Potential Workshop at 3rd Ward
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Muscle Music: Turning the Body’s Signals into Sound
Analogous Projects is excited to announce an upcoming workshop by former Interaction Art Incubator Fellow Torino:Margolis. Muscle Music: Turning the Body’s Signals into Sound will feature the technical development behind former Interaction Art Incubator project Action Potential, a new media work giving voice to human free will through a combination of circuitbending, choreography, and electromyography: Since commercial EMGs can be prohibitively expensive, Torino:Margolis has developed an easy-to-follow protocol for DIY EMG-construction. In this hands-on 3rd Ward workshop, you will build your very own EMG for use in new media projects and DIY biology experiments! Torino:Margolis will also discuss the physiology of muscle contraction, and EMG-interfacing possibilities.
Muscle Music: Turning the Body’s Signals into Sound will take place at 3rd Ward from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 14th, 2010 at 3rd Ward in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Registration is required, and is $190 for non-members and $170 for 3rd Ward members. The registration deadline is November 8th, 2010. Click here to register for this one-time-only workshop!
Action Potential at Morbid Anatomy
Torino:Margolis at Morbid Anatomy
Morbid Anatomy hosts a lecture and performance series featuring Interaction Art Incubator Fellows Torino:Margolis. All events take place at the Observatory in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Electricity and the Body in Public Performance
Morbid Anatomy is pleased to present Electricity and the Body in Public Performance, an illustrated lecture taking place at the Observatory at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 15th.
Beginning with the first known public performance by Stephen Gray in 1729, and continuing through the present, scientists and artists have been exploring electricity and the human body for hundreds of years. The innate electrical potential of the human body, the use of electricity as a medium of destruction, and the use of electricity to manipulate the body have served as conceptual fodder throughout this time period. Although collaboration between the arts and sciences may seem recent -- due to its popularization in the media and contemporary movements such as BioArt -- the connection between these two disciplines have existed for centuries. Benjamin Margolis (M.D.) and Jenny Torino (M.S., R.D.), current tinkerers from both worlds, will take you through the history of public performance in this arena, and discuss how it relates to their own work with invasive electronics.
Electricity and the Body in Public Performance will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at the Observatory on 543 Union Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Admission is $5 and is open to the public.
(Torino:Margolis are 2009-2010 Interaction Art Incubator Fellows.)
A performative exploration of electricity, biomedicine, and spectacle
Morbid Anatomy is pleased to present A performative exploration of electricity, biomedicine, and spectacle, a three-part performance taking place at the Observatory at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday June 29th.
In Part One of the performance, the audience will have an opportunity to control performer movement using neuromuscular stimulation, which sends electricity into the performer’s muscles and forces the muscles to contract, causing involuntary movement. In Part Two of the performance, Torino:Margolis will use electromyography (EMG) in a sound-based performance, titled Action Potential. EMG is a method of sensing electricity produced naturally in the muscles during voluntary (but not involuntary) movement, and can be adapted as a sound source. Torino:Margolis will use the Electromyographone to sonically illustrate this distinction between voluntary and involuntary movement in order to present human free will to the viewer. In Part Three of the performance, Torino:Margolis will introduce a vocal component to the illustration by manipulating the vocal cords using neuromuscular stimulation.
A performative exploration of electricity, biomedicine, and spectacle will take place at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at the Observatory on 543 Union Street in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Admission is $5 and is open to the public.
(Torino:Margolis are 2009-2010 Interaction Art Incubator Fellows.)