Sound and multimedia programming: PURE DATA for Artists

Sept. 17, 2004

Type: discussion

Learn something new for the new year! (Please pass this on)

BETA and Lighthouse, Brighton present

Pure Data for Artists with Derek Holzer and Aymeric Mansoux
http://www.puredata.org/about/
h <http://betagroup.org/workshops.html> ttp://betagroup.org/workshops.html
http://www. <http://www.lighthouse.org.uk> lighthouse.org.uk

December 13 to 18
250

Pure-Data is a modular synthesizer system in software. It can be used as a =
virtual electronic instrument, in a midi studio context or live. It can pro=
cess live or recorded material, and can be utilised to create sound- and, w=
ith GEM - video installations. While many tools exist for sound, multimedia=
and VJ purposes, few of them are designed with an open architecture that a=
llows artists to configure the tools they use themselves. Fewer still are f=
ree. The importance of an open source development model may seem academic a=
t first, but in fact there is a strong need for a workshop of this kind. Th=
e fees, licenses and restrictions that come with commercial software become=
more and more restrictive every day, and the knowledge in the new media co=
mmunity of free and open source software is extremely limited. Coupled with=
this is the stigma that open source software, such as Linux, is "too diffi=
cult" for artists to use.

This course aims to provide digital tools that can be taken away and put to=
use immediately and the knowledge of how to use them. Each workshop will b=
e preceded by an introductory talk. No previous knowledge of open source so=
ftware or programming is needed but it would be helpful if to have some kno=
wledge of existing multimedia packages.

There will be a public exhibition of the students� work on Saturday
For course details please go to www.lighthouse.org.uk

Derek Holzer was born in USA and now lives in the Netherlands. He is a sou=
nd and radio artist with a background in free radio, net.radio and streamin=
g media technologies. He was involved with some of the first net.radio expe=
riments in Hungary (Pararadio) and Czech Republic (Radio Jeleni). He has al=
so worked with Re-lab, a net.radio group in Latvia who gradually shifted th=
eir focus towards broader issues of 'acoustic spaces' and networked audio c=
ommunications. In August 2001, Derek participated in the Acoustic Space Lab=
, which brought together an international team of 30 sound artists, communi=
ty radio activists, and scientists to experiment with a 32 meter antenna, r=
ecording sounds and data from planets, communication satellites and the sur=
rounding environment. Recently, his work has focused on capturing and trans=
forming small, unnoticed sounds from various natural and urban locations, o=
n the electromagnetic resonances in our everyday environment, as well as th=
e use of free software such as Linux and Pure-Data. This course will contin=
ue a series of workshops and lectures given throughout Europe, the US and t=
he UK.

Aymeric Mansoux is a French digital artist and author of pure-data tutorial=
s and articles for MusicRun. He is also co-founder of Goto10, an organizati=
on dedicated to set up and produce electronic live events.

For more information please contact Dr. Garrett Monaghan, Head of Digital =
Arts - [email protected]