Event Blog - Vibratory Fields: Artists as Neural Orchestrators, Cartographers, and Translators

 

A screenshot of my confirmation email registering for the event. 

On May 10th, I attended the lecture Vibratory Fields: Artists as Neural Orchestrators, Cartographers, and Translators, given by Cristina Albu. This was a very interesting talk going over several different ways that brain data has been used in art ever since we were able to measure brain waves. The four sections were solo neurofeedback performances, brainwave duets, ecology of mind and earth, and poetic entanglements. 

 

Screenshot of my attendance and comment.

One of the art pieces mentioned in the talk that I found interesting and wanted to learn more about was Lisa Park's Eunoia I and II. With a title meaning beautiful mind, the piece is a performance where the artist wears an EEG band that transmits various brain waves of hers to speakers that correspond to different emotions. In Eunoia I there were 5 speakers, and in II there were 48. Each speaker has a plate of water on top of it that will vibrate and move with the sound waves. During the performance, Park endeavors to clear her mind so that all of the speakers go quiet and the water goes still.

 

Park performing Eunoia I. (2)

 This piece was an example of the solo neurofeedback performances that have been done since the advent of electroencephalography (EEG). I find these performances really interesting because even though brainwaves are theoretically incredibly natural and intuitive since they are exactly what creates our thoughts, however when they are played out loud they feel abstract and alien. I think this contrast is really interesting to explore and I found myself thinking about it a lot during the different performances that were highlighted in the talk. 

Sources: 

1. Albu, Cristina. “Intimate Connections: Alternative Communication Threads in Nina Sobell’s Video Performances and Installations (1974-1982)", Camera Obscura, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Spring 2020): 39-75.

2. Park, Lisa. "Eunoia." 2013. https://www.thelisapark.com/work/eunoia 

3. Hughes, John and Stone, James.  "Early History of Electroencephalography and Establishment of the
American Clinical Neurophysiology Society," Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 30, No.1 (Feb 2013): 28-44.