JEAN-PIERRE GAUTHIER | ASSERVISSEMENTS & GÉNÉRATEUR STOCHASTIQUE

A strange dynamic of control and loss of control animates Générateur stochastique and Asservissements, two sound installations by artist Jean-Pierre Gauthier presented at OBORO this spring.

Générateur stochastique invites visitors to manipulate a game console, and thereby partially influence and control the sonic outputs of the installation. Laser sensors and a program using random parameters modify the sounds and their spatialization. With the installation Asservissements, strangeness emerges between the making of a sculptural violin-type instrument and its orchestration. The sounds produced by each instrument invented by the artist act autonomously in their respective quadraphonic spatialization. The programming, modes of automation and playing speeds of the instruments shape a relationship with the artist that is comparable to the one a conductor would have with an improvising musician, who only partially follows the conductor’s instructions. The conductor is forced to adapt to the musician’s reactions. Thus, bows and robotic percussive elements unexpectedly react to lines of code written during the composition process. The artist adjusts to the way the instruments react in order to program composition and performance elements in a modular arrangement through a custom composition interface.

From then on, a way of composing is set up by the artist and visitors whereby loss of control stimulates and challenges the will to control.

Exhibition
April 18 to May 23, 2020

Opening
Saturday April 18, 2020 at 5 p.m.

Performance
Saturday May 23, 2020 at 2 p.m.