News, interviews, and stories about the arts at MIT
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Leah Talatinian
Senior Officer for Marketing and Communications

Tree Clocks: an interactive rhythm and language work
Code Cypher, hosted by CAST Visiting Artist and Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco and Professor Nick Montfort, invited MIT students to develop computational artworks that play with language and rhythm… Our interactive rhythm and poetry performance centered around multiple tree trunk rings as … Continued

[R]Evolution of Hip Hop Breakbeat Narratives
“Hip hop is much more than a musical genre. It is a global phenomenon, with a rich history and massive social and cultural impact. We wanted to tell stories that pushed beyond stereotypical representations, digging into the complexities of empowering … Continued
An immersive museum installation that is conversational and personalized for each viewer

Neoperceptions
Augmenting human perception with live performance technology
2018 Creative Arts Competition supports arts-focused startups from idea to impact
On April 30, MIT’s yearlong suite of opportunities for student arts entrepreneurs culminated in the sixth annual Creative Arts Competition, a $15,000 prize for the most promising arts-focused startup at the Institute. Eight teams were selected as finalists (from 23 … Continued

Music | MACHINES
Celebrating 50 Years of Music and Technology at MIT February 5, 2011 / 9:00am – 10:00pm MIT Media Lab E14 A full day and evening at MIT’s new Media Lab Complex celebrated the Institute’s unique tradition and future plans at the convergence of music, … Continued

Q&A: Evan Ziporyn on Music Visionary Alvin Lucier
Composer and MIT professor discusses the enduring legacy of Visiting Artist Alvin Lucier.

Gamma Sonification: MIT Students Make Music From Particle Energy
MIT students make music from particle energy.

Visiting Artist Florian Hecker’s Sound Art Explores “Auditory Chimera”
2011 Visiting Artist Florian Hecker, a renowned sound artist, releases the publication, Chimerizations, based on work developed at MIT.

Inventor-Composer Trimpin at MIT
Reposted from MIT News Trimpin — he goes by his surname only — first immigrated to the United States in 1979 because there was not enough junk in his native Germany. In the scrapyards and Boeing surplus stores in Seattle, … Continued

Music/Tech: Christopher Janney
In 1976, Christopher Janney was one of only four graduate students to enroll in MIT’s new masters program in Environmental Art, where he first began his formal experiments combining architecture and jazz under Otto Piene, Director of MIT’s Center for Advanced Visual Studies, founded in 1967. His thesis, “SOUNDSTAIR: The Nature of Environmental/Participatory Art,” was performed on many iconic stairways — from the Spanish Steps in Rome to MIT’s own Building 7 — in which the dancer’s footsteps would trigger sounds, altered in real-time by Janney. In essence, the entire building became a musical instrument.

Composing for Loudspeakers: Computer Music Pioneer John Chowning Visits MIT
In 1967, late one night in the eucalyptus-scented hills of Palo Alto, John Chowning stumbled across what would become one of the most profound developments in computer music. “It was a discovery of the ear,” says Chowning, who gave a … Continued