Method No. 14 (May 3, 2002)
Guest: Clarence Barlow
The bulletin "Method" is an email bimonthly of free forwarding. The
purpose is to pursue and exhibit method arts, such as method painting,
method poem, and method music. If you have any trouble with receiving,
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- "Method" members:
Hideki Nakazawa (artist), Shigeru Matsui (poet), Masahiro Miwa (composer)
- Manifestos of Methodicism http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/
- Japanese translation http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/index_j.html
Preface by Masahiro Miwa
Guest's manuscript:
Mythod by Clarence Barlow
Guest's work:
Les Ciseaux de Tom Johnson by Clarence Barlow
Members' manuscripts:
Report on the Second Method Art Festival by Hideki Nakazawa
Pure Formalization of a Poem by Shigeru Matsui
To Synthesize a Civilization by Masahiro Miwa
Members' works:
Mass Measurement by Hideki Nakazawa
Pure Poem Walking by Shigeru Matsui
The simulation software of "The MATARISAMA" by Masahiro Miwa
Information, Editor's notes
--
Method No. 14 Guest: Clarence Barlow
Preface
by Masahiro Miwa
Clarence Barlow, who is renowned for being one of the pioneers of
computer music, is a rare breed of composer who has, in using the newest
technology ever-changing, unwaveringly used solely his own methodology
to create music. This is music created with a method to restructure
this world after it has been parameterized. Last year Clarence Barlow
came to the DSP summer school in Japan. His presentation of several of
his works under a theme of "Transformation" that skillfully manipulated
not only music but also parameterized images and text was very
impressive indeed.
- http://kalvos.org/barlowk.html
- http://genterstr.hypermart.net/f_comps/barlow.html (German only)
Guest's manuscript & work:
Mythod
by Clarence Barlow
-- see the perfect document!! http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/Mythod.html
This is an incomplete attempt to describe what I usually do and how I do
it.
BEING:
The unprovable assumption that I AM is reasonable for doing what I do.
It is made up of
1:the MATERIAL, which comprises
11:the PHYSICAL (the body and its organic parts, born in 1945 and
beginning to occasionally but mildly suffer from ailments such as
gout, coronary complaints and eyesight deficiency)
>>and
10:the FUNCTIONAL, which manifests itself in
101:ACTION, which works as
1011:CREATING ideas as in
10111:REALISING them, i.e.
101111:GENERATING music, texts and films usually (not always) by diverse
algorithms and parameters as well as organising music events - my
compositions turned dodecaphonic, then stochastic by 1970, the
phenomena of tonality and metricism also entering the picture
then - my texts are either theoretical (see below) or comment on
the state of things, mainly music - my films are time-structured
concatenations of pre-recorded or of algorithmically generated
shapes
>>>>>>and
101110:TRANSFORMING texts, images and music into each other
algorithmically, e.g. the letters of a text, the formants of
speech sounds, a photograph's pixels or a film's moving objects
into pitches and rhythms - the transformation of music itself was
effected e.g. by probabilistically redistributing the original
material
>>>>>and
10110:THEORISING on matters of music and mathematics, as e.g. in making
formulas for melodic harmonicity and rhythmic metricity and for
digital signal processing, but also on socio-psychological issues,
such as the (humourous) parametrisation of the "satisfaction
gained by Artmaking", of the quality of late 20th Century music,
as well as of individual human relations and of the mentality of
Central European peoples, mostly resulting in the writing of
books and articles
>>>>and
1010:TRANSFERRING information, as in
10101:TEACHING composition and sonology at the Royal Conservatory in The
Hague and computer music at the Music Academy in Cologne
>>>>>and
10100:LEARNING (in this order:) English, piano playing, music theory,
mathematics, German, the programming languages Fortran and Pascal,
acoustics, Dutch, French, Katakana, Hiragana and hopefully more
later
>>>and
100:PERCEPTION (my being aware of things through my sense organs),
resulting in cognition, mainly of the visual, audible and
olfactory
>and
0:the IMMATERIAL, which comprises
01:THOUGHT, which manifests itself in
011:IMAGINATION of how to explain phenomena, of books to be written,
music to be composed, films to be made, but also of culinary and
other physical delights
>>>and
010:MEMORY (including the evaluation) of a half-century of experiences,
such as the strictness of school, the futility of being a
Catholic for 20 years, of great music heard, of fascinating
features of mathematics and astronomy
>>and
00:FEELING, which manifests itself in
001:INTUITION (including inspiration), as when I instinctively feel how
to shape a composition, or to judge a work of art
>>>and
000:EMOTION, as when I enjoy a delicious meal, music works of past
centuries, or when I am disgusted by a typical piece of late 20th
Century contemporary music
Les Ciseaux de Tom Johnson
by Clarence Barlow
http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/Clarence/Barlowork.html
T, O, M, J, O, HN, S, O, N written horizontally equidistant, vertically
alphabetic. Circles drawn through groups TOM, MJH, JOS, JNS, SON, OOO,
the last infinite (straight line). Groups shift anticlockwise along
circles 90 times by 90th of smallest circumference. Moving vertical
line scans each frame rightwards: encountering a letter makes height
pitch, moment time, giving 91 miniscores. 91 miniscores laid along
time axis, with all OOO-group 'O's equitimed. Pause after first
miniscore.
Members' manuscripts & works:
Report on the Second Method Art Festival
by Hideki Nakazawa
Shigeru Matsui and Masahiro Miwa and I, the three members of "Method,"
held the Second Method Art Festival in Tokyo on April 14 and 28, 2002.
A year has passed since the First Method Art Festival which was held by
Matsui and Tomomi Adachi and myself in Kitakyushu on March 10 and 11,
2001. (Adachi used to be a member at that time, Miwa did not.)
The Method Art Festival, in spite of its appearance, is not a
composite art show. Indeed, Matsui is a poet, Miwa or Adachi is a
composer or a musician, and I am a visual artist, but, in spite of that,
method art intends neither synthesis nor fusion of different genres of
art. It intends pure art.
Then, what is the purpose of our doing together? The answer is that
we consider "super" pure art can go beyond its own genre. I use the
word "method" as what is somewhat beyond and common to plural genres of
art. Thus, such a thing may happen as only walking just using a certain
method can be called a poem. Matsui's "Pure Poem Walking," realized on
April 14, is just such a thing. Or, such things may happen as certain
musical pieces and certain visual art pieces can have the same method.
My "Musical composition No. 1" and "No. 2," "Set No. 1" and "No. 2" are
just such things. They were realized as "Simultaneous Exhibition" on
April 28.
Another piece, Miwa's "Shooting Star Worship," is indeed a worship of
a certain cult religion, with an astonishing man-machine system. It is
music but almost beyond music, as his other works are. My "Mass
Measurement" is related to an abstracted idea of sketch. Sketch is the
matter of both visual art and literature.
"Method Old Maid" was performed at the end of the program as a joint
work by Matsui and Miwa and myself. The rule is simple; only a certain
method has been added to the original Old Maid. You can call this piece
visual art in black and red, or a poem of rows of numbers, or music with
repeated rhythm. But on the other hand, you can call it just a card
game, not visual art nor a poem nor music.
After the announcement of closing the Festival, many visitors stayed
there enjoying drinking and talking, while the three members of "Method"
were still playing the endless "Method Old Maid."
Pure Formalization of a Poem
by Shigeru Matsui
Pure formalization of a poem should be considered in accordance with
a sentence written in the Methodicist Manifesto, "Method poem is a row
of letters which comes to method itself."
A row of letters is classified into the plural line or the singular
line. A poem is classified into the poem of plural line or singular
line. The poem of plural line is a row of letters with a cursor return
code. The poem of singular line is a row of letters without a cursor
return code. The row of letters with a cursor return code consists of
points placed on manuscript paper. The row of letters without a cursor
return code consists of lines drawn on manuscript paper. The points
placed on the manuscript paper point space as a result of separated the
row of letters. The lines drawn on the manuscript paper draw time as a
result of the continuous the row of letters. The row of letters, which
have pointed the space, become material. The row of letters, which have
drawn time, become a phenomenon. The pointed space by material gets
close to a painting. The drawn time by a phenomenon gets close to music.
The material, which gets close to a painting, becomes a new letter.
The poem of plural line, which is using a cursor return code itself is a
method and a purpose. The new letter is just the result of pure
formalization of a poem.
The phenomenon, which gets close to music, becomes a new rhyme. The
poem of singular line, which is not using a cursor return code itself is
a method and a purpose. The new rhyme is just the result of pure
formalization of a poem.
By classifying a poem into plural and singular, we understand that
the poem of plural line is a visual poem and that the poem of singular
line is a sound poem. That is the correspondence between letter and
sound. It is common to classify poem into a free verse and a fixed form
of verse, but if I think of pure formalization of a poem, it is the
right way to define the poem of plural line as a visual poem and the
poem of singular line as a sound poem.
The next stage of pure formalization of a poem is probably to
intermediate the poem of plural line and the poem of singular line. I
can say that a new rhyme by a new letter will approach the films.
To Synthesize a Civilization
by Masahiro Miwa
I still often think of something that a senior at college said to me
many years ago: Where is the music? Is it in the composer's head? On
the score? Inside the performer's head? Contained within the notes
performed? Or, in the head of the listener? Those questions are not
about the location of the information we know as music but rather where
and how music is brought into existence. When I was studying Western
composition, I had a vague belief that music "was in the head of the
composer and subsequently written upon a score." At the time, I even
thought that "as long as I could define my own musical ideas on a score,
the actual sound of the music did not matter so much."
However, those compositions were in principle merely something that
defined the pitch and timing of musical notes and I soon began to doubt
whether music was something that could actually be defined only with a
score. The rationale behind the practice of performing musical scores
and the large numbers of people who listen to this music lies in the
tradition that supports our social and civil systems. In other words,
the concept of music is very strong in society. There exists a proper
method for writing music down, there are people who have been trained to
perform music, who perform before an unspecified number of people, who
listen in silence ... together with the whole environment that makes
this possible. This phenomenon is not limited to Western countries and
is also found in many other cultures.
In which case I would like to dare apply the following statement to
modern day Japan: "Music is an action where people ring bells in
accordance with prearranged rules." Not because of a longing for things
primitive, not to revive interaction between fellow humans, but simply
to ascertain the necessary conditions under which this system makes
music possible. In the past the expression "This can not be called
music" has often been used when criticizing modern music. I would now
like to assert that "Music that does not consist of people who ring
bells in accordance with prearranged rules can not be called music." I
assert this because I vaguely feel that if this condition is satisfied,
it is possible for music to bring into existence.
Mass Measurement
by Hideki Nakazawa
http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/work014.html
This performance piece has two stages. In the 1st stage, two things are
scaled together, e.g. A+B, B+C, C+D, D+E. In the 2nd stage, the last
thing and the first thing are scaled together, e.g. E+A. Each thing's
mass can be known only when the number of things is odd.
Pure Poem Walking
by Shigeru Matsui
http://www11.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/td5/shigeru/walking.html
"Pure Poem Walking" is a work of walking according to "Pure Poem". This
is the score used at the Second Method Art Festival.
The simulation software of "The MATARISAMA"
by Masahiro Miwa
http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/XORensemble.html
This software is simulation of "The MATARISAMA" for 8 players, which was
first performed in the Second Method Art Festival. This was made not to
imitate the performance but to verify the results of the performance-
-rule.
Information:
from Clarence Barlow
- THE RATIO BOOK, a documentation of the RATIO SYMPOSIUM in The Hague
1992, with authors (mostly in English) V. Abel, C. Barlow, B. Bel, P.
Decroupet, K. Howard, A. La Berge, S.-C. Lee (German), D. Lekkas, H.
Moeller, W. Swets, S. Tempelaars, J. Tenney, B. Thornton, H. Touma, W.
van der Meer, D. Wolf, editor Clarence Barlow, published November 2001
by Feedback Studio Cologne (Feedback Papers No.43)
VON DER MUSIQUANTENLEHRE (Feedback Papers No.34), a German textbook on
music-linked mathematics, informatics, acoustics and phonetics, as well
as on quantified harmony and metre, is expected to be finished in 2002.
http://genterstr.hypermart.net/papers.html
- 23 May 2002: Concert of Barlow's music in Aachen (Germany) by the Ives
Ensemble, Amsterdam
http://www.aachen.de/Aktuelles/musikfest/programm.htm
- General information under
http://www.rlow.org (Internet Explorer)
from Hideki Nakazawa
- Japan and Korea Contemporary Prints Exhibition from May 25 to June 23
at Gallery OM (Shin-Yokohama), with Yayoi Kusama, Kim Hyung-Dae, et al.
- Trumpettist K. Sokabe will play my pieces on May 6 at Manpukuji temple.
- Lecture on Paul Signac at Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art on May 11.
- Lecture on 20c's art at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo on June 8.
- Class "Methodicist Manifesto" from May to July at Bigakko, Kanda.
- I will write for the poem magazine "Mi-Te" No. 35 on May 19 as a guest.
- Further info incld. free "Digital Nendo," permanent show at Hospital
Gallery, my writings ... http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/info_e.html
from Shigeru Matsui
- Contributed to "suigyu" http://www.ne.jp/asahi/suigyu/suigyu21/
- Exhibition at "BIENNALE DE POESIE VISUAL, 2002," May 15-25 (Tokyo)
from Masahiro Miwa
- May 26 Participating in the 14th Gifu University Art Forum. New
program, Masahiro Miwa Corner, will start.
- June 22@Repeat performance of the "Song of Imaginary Far East Island
II" at the flute recital by Dogen Kinowaki
- Further info http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/ToDo.html
from "Method"
- Back numbers http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/index_e.html
From issue No. 1 to No. 12 are under translation from Japanese.
Guests up to the issue No. 13: Motoaki Shinohara, Toshiaki Furuya,
Masahiro Miwa, Akira Tatehata, Kenjiro Okazaki, Haruyuki Suzuki,
Tatsuhiko Ishii, Yutaka Matsuzawa, Yuji Takahashi, Shin Tanabe,
Shigeyuki Toshima, Yasunao Tone, Yasuko Toyoshima.
- Those who want to subscribe for this bulletin, contact the members.
Editor's notes:
The two days of the Second Method Art Festival tied up with the "Live at
The Drugstore" brought us valuable experience and fruitful results. A
lot of thanks to those who came! We will continue thinking about arts
and planing such performance events. Please follow our activities.
Thank you! (MM)
--
Bimonthly Bulletin "Method" No. 14 published on May 3, 2002
Publisher: Hideki Nakazawa, Shigeru Matsui, Masahiro Miwa
nakazawa@aloalo.co.jp http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/
shigeru@td5.so-net.ne.jp http://www11.u-page.so-net.ne.jp/td5/shigeru/
mmiwa@iamas.ac.jp http://www.iamas.ac.jp/~mmiwa/
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