Biofeedback Art & Research Symposium

The symposium introduces a newly established network of artists, scientists, and researchers who explore the intersection of biological data and artistic expression. Featuring contributions of three musicians-researchers (Alex Chechile, Barbara Nerness, Micah Huang) who employ biofeedback as a tool for creating music that responds to physiological signals of performers and/or listeners, the symposium will expose attendees to the most far-out (though little-known) form of art-science. Complemented by an overview of over 50 years of history of biofeedback music (Anastasia Chernysheva), these performances will demonstrate the potential of using the electric discharge of the human body as a tool for creating music – offering aesthetic insights as well as epistemic implications of this hybrid practice.

Featured Artists:

Barbara Nerness is an artist, researcher, and PhD candidate at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), also pursuing a Certificate in Composition. Her research focuses on brain dynamics measured by EEG during music improvisation, and she also writes, performs, and improvises multichannel music using sounds of the body (heartbeat, breath, brainwaves), field recordings, guitar, and electronics. Barbara enjoys collaboration, especially projects investigating the body, surveillance, and technological subversion. She has performed throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles, as well as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, ZKM, and the Sonic Arts Research Centre. She holds an MA in Music, Science, and Technology from Stanford University and a BA in Mathematics from UC Berkeley.

Micah Huang is a musician and interdisciplinary performance artist whose work explores embodied consciousness via ritual, community and technology. Through the integration of traditional practices such as spirit communication with technological tools including biofeedback, and responsive, immersive environments. Micah’s work explores the ways in which music and ritual can have lasting, measurable benefits for individuals and communities. This includes collaboration with neuroscientists to create aesthetic experiences designed to give specific mental and physical health benefits, as well as arts based community advocacy that directly addresses pressing issues such as anti-racism, cross-cultural empathy, and economic inequality. Micah's work has been featured by local and national media outlets, and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, UCLA Chancellor's Award, Fulbright Fellowship, and others. Micah is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Practice, Critical Inquiry at Harvard University.

Alex Chechile is a sound artist, composer, and electronic artist whose work develops in parallel with research in neuroscience and psychoacoustics. With a particular interest in the relationship between sound and the body, his immersive compositions, installations, and performances aim to bring transparency to otherwise invisible processes in biological and technological systems. Questions that arise in his artistic work lead to formalized studies, and the results cyclically inform his sonic practice. As a performer, Chechile was a founding member of Pauline Oliveros’ Tintinnabulate ensemble, collaborated with Mercury Rev, and performed a solo opening act for Primus. His projects have been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Harvestworks, Issue Project Room, the Experimental Television Center, the Deep Listening Institute, and the American Embassy, among others. His work has been presented at festivals and venues including IRCAM, MoMA, ICMC, Electronic Music Midwest, EMPAC, the New York Electronic Arts Festival, and Cité Internationale des Arts. Chechile holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), and is currently a Research Fellow and faculty at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Curator:

Anastasia Chernysheva (MA, University of Illinois) is a scholar and curator exploring the topics of experimental music and biofeedback art. Having a background in the history and philosophy of science, Anastasia attempts to reconcile the principles of the scientific method with the praxis of artistic expression.

Admission:

The event will be free and open to the public.

Photo and video policy:

Documentation is welcome and encouraged; no flash please.

Credit:

This project was made possible by Art of Recovery, an initiative of the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs. A big "thank you" goes to Lois Lambert Gallery (Lois Lambert and Ari Fouse) of Bergamot Station for supporting the initiative.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Bergamot Station Arts Center, 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica, United States