Our little research group is in production. We are working on a forthcoming future reality performance in which we plan to combine a futuristic computer-generated soundscape, interpretive dance, and an immersive virtual reality world.
Today we received a visit from a colleague of one of our collaborators who works in a very different medium — Tibetan singing bowls. Rather than rely in the latest of computer-mediated technology, her art makes use of beautiful hand-blown glass bowls that produce deep and powerfully resonant tones as she rubs a special mallet around their rim.
As I listened to our visitor play these instruments, my analytic left brain was telling me “Oh, that’s just [blah blah, fill in boring physics explanation here].” But my intuitive right brain became filled with a growing sense of awe and wonder. As you feel these sounds all through your body, you cannot help but be profoundly moved.
We are looking at ways to combine the singing bowls with our forthcoming high-tech performance. Our hope is to merge and dissolve between the ancient Tibetan tones and the new sorts of sounds that we can generate via computer to be experienced in a virtual space.
I am not sure how it will all turn out, but at this point I feel very inspired.