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CollisionCourses2

Collision Courses 2 [Laganse/D.Miller/Smith]

29 November 2019, 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Black Box Theatre, L.R. Wilson Hall
Carmela Lagansen

Carmela Lagansen_ Materiality as Process: New Materialism Through an Intersectional Lens

Barad’s theory of agential realism, which includes the inseparability of intra-acting agencies are ideas that help articulate the embodied knowledge that exists in my practice and the work that I make. I will be presenting objects/ research which have emerged from the entangled relationships between ideology and culture as it relates to issues of colonization. I think about how these objects use our embodied knowledge to engage in critical corporeal experience.
By contextualizing my work and practice through sources from my visual culture and a lens of agential realism, I consider the act of making, materials I source and use, the economy around the object, materials and context of my studio, tools etc. also as a social or political emergence.

Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Laganse received an MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University and a BFA from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.  Carmela has exhibited nationally and internationally since 2005. Recent exhibitions include Hamilton Now, Object at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, and Close Quarters at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo, ON. She has worked at various institutions across Canada teaching mainly in 3D and expanded practices. She researches and teaches in the School of the Arts at McMaster University.
Greg Smith

Greg Smith_ Hits, Kits, and Presets: Drum Programming After the Roland CR-78

Released in 1978, the Roland CR-78 ‘CompuRhythm’ was one of the first programmable drum machines. Two hits signalled its arrival: Blondie’s crossover smash “Heart of Glass” (1978) and Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” (1981). Extending out of a close reading of how the CR-78’s preset rhythm patterns and idiosyncratic interface shaped the production of these songs, this talk will parse notions of authenticity and obsolescence in early 1980s music making practice.

Greg J. Smith is a cultural producer, writer, and editor based in Hamilton, Ontario. He received a B.A. (Philosophy) and M.Arch from the University of Toronto, and is currently doing PhD research on the history of electronic percussion in McMaster University’s Communication, New Media, and Cultural Studies program. Beyond his research, Greg teaches at Ryerson University’s RTA School of Media, is the Editor of HOLO magazine, and serves on the Board of Directors of InterAccess—a Toronto artist-run centre focused on expanding the cultural significance of art and technology.
Paul D. Miller

Paul D. Miller_ The Imaginary App
Multimedia talk, appropriate for general audiences or university students [Themes: Design, apps, technology, multimedia, communication, philosophy, creativity]

In this talk, multimedia artist, composer and writer Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky expands the concept of DJ with elements of data, conceptual art, collage, loops and layers. From his popular DJ app for iPad, which has enjoyed over 12 million downloads, to his latest book “The Imaginary App” on how apps have changed everything, DJ Spooky will discuss how technology has shaped creativity throughout history and continues to guide how we actualize the future.

Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky is a composer, multimedia artist and writer whose work immerses audiences in a blend of genres, global culture, and environmental and social issues. His written work has been published by The Village Voice, The Source, and Artforum, among others, and he is the Editor of Origin Magazine. Miller’s work has appeared in the Whitney Biennial; The Venice Biennial for Architecture; the Ludwig Museum in Cologne; Kunsthalle, Vienna; The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Miami/Art Basel fair, and many other museums and galleries. Miller’s award-winning book “Rhythm Science” was published by MIT Press 2004, and was followed by “Sound Unbound,” an anthology about electronic music and digital media, in 2008. “The Book of Ice”, an experiential visual and acoustic portrait of the Antarctic, was published in 2011 by Random House.
Miller has collaborated with a vast array of recording artists, ranging from Metallica to Chuck D; Steve Reich to Yoko Ono. His large scale, multimedia performance pieces include “Rebirth of a Nation,” “Terra Nova: Sinfonia Antarctica,” which was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music for the Next Wave Festival 2009, and “Seoul Counterpoint”, written during his residency at Seoul Institute of the Arts in 2014. Miller was the first Artist in Residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he premiered his work “A Civil War Symphony” in 2013. In 2014, Miller was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, an honor recognizing visionaries at the forefront of global problem solving.  Recent projects include “Peace Symphony,” commissioned by UN Peace Boat, “Hidden Code,” a new planetarium show commissioned by Dartmouth College in collaboration with Museum of Science Boston, “Forest Symphony” commissioned by Oregon State University, the CD/DVD of “Rebirth of a Nation” on Cantaloupe Music, and the publication of his fourth book “The Imaginary App” from MIT Press.
Miller is the 2017-2018 recipient of the The Hewlett 50 Arts Commission Award which will support the creation of “QUANTOPIA: The Evolution of the Internet" a multimedia performance and an installation based on the history and evolution of the internet, which premiered at San Francisco's YBCA in January 2019 to a sold out house. Latest album releases include "Phantom Dancehall" with premier reggae label VP Records and his first blockchain album "The Invisible Hand" commissioned by Breaker.