April 10th - audio.visual.code at WNDR museum, Chicago

It is my first algorithmic rave event as a participant. And I owe many thanks to the organizers Ted (Faculty, UIC), Pedro (Professor, UIC School of Design) & Glossing/Aria (amazing live coding artist/engineer) for her unwavering support!

On the technical side, I spent the last 4 months learning Strudel (Tidal in JS). Then wrote my own pitchwheel() to better see associations between chords and polygons. Then built the Waveflower app in order to see audio signals in the form of spiral / flower geometry.

The aim for this "presentation" is twofold: one, introduce audience to the possibility of composing rich soundtracks with only code and audio samples; and two, to create an immediate association between music and math through pitch/signal accurate visual patterns.

I've presented two completed tracks over my entire course of working in Strudel. But there is a lot of work behind the scenes that was not shown here. Although I wish to convey the music theory involved - on how I justified the intonation to stabilize some of the flower patterns, or how I arranged my tracks in a more structured and easy-to-follow manner, there is only so much I can show on a live screen on a 30-minute set.

But some people noticed: in responding to the chip-tune-like melodies, in the way they move their bodies, in the way they cheered and danced and clapped their hands. Because in that moment I knew, I have done something right.

There is much to be learned still as I can swear that this will not be my last. I certainly have plans to do live workshops - to not only sharing what I have learned, but also helping people understand that: > "you are an artist and so is everyone! so don't be afraid to show your creativity to the world!"

Through this experience I understood that there is no technical hurdles we cannot overcome. So really there isn't a limit to creativity you can bring to the table as well.

Through these live coding communities, I finally understood what it meant when they stood by the principal of "everyone is welcomed" - where no matter your experience, age, ethnicity, gender identification, or how "weird" your art looks or sounds, YOU ARE WELCOMED HERE. And as long as you can show the world something new and interesting that has yet to be shown or previously created, you will be valued - with encouragement especially if you are in one of these marginalized groups.

And no, we don't do any sort of A.I here - communities generally reject any use of generative A.I. in shows. Just like other art forms, algorithmic art should be fundamentally human.