Fall 2013
The Poetics of Noise: Poetry and Punk, 1965 – 1980
December 11, 2013
Presenter: John Melillo
Poetry and punk rock? In this talk, English Professor will take us on a tour of the Downtown New York art world in 1960s and 1970s. The phenomenon of punk grew out of an artistic “scene” of intense and often unsettling experiments with words, images, and sounds. But we will only revel in the linguistic chaos and performative excess that defined this time and place. We will also look at the concrete networks-in little magazines, poetry readings, and nightclubs-that supported these experiments. From little known counter-culture heroes like Ed Sanders to international pop stars like Patti Smith; from poetic experimenters like Clark Coolidge to performers like Richard Hell; from the self-consciously disturbing writers like Kathy Acker to the new-data of No Wave bands like DNA, we will hear, see, and feel the birth of a new way of engaging with and critiquing the world-a new noise.
V -> T -> D: A world premiere of a piece for live electronics and jazz trio
November 13, 2013
Presenters: Christopher Jette & Kelland Thomas
Composer and collaborative digital artists Christopher Jette and UA saxophone professor Kelland Thomas present an electronic composition stemming from the translation of a saxophone improvisation. The composition, v -> t -> d (“vee to tee to dee”), is an exchange of musical ideas with a saxophone improvisation translated by custom software developed by Dr. Jette. Then this material is used as the basis for two works: an experimental/classical saxophone and electronic work, and a live improvisation in a jazz ensemble. The project showcases the process of turning improvisation into composition and back again, varying, translating and deriving new works. The classical work will be for saxophone and electronics, and the jazz set will feature Dr. Thomas with guitarist Matt Mitchel and drummer Angus Forbes. Both performances will draw from the same sound material to re-imagine and contextualize them in new ways.
Cars…Buildings…Planes…Computer Controlled Complexities
October 9, 2013
Presenter: Jonathan Sprinkle
Systems on things we use everyday are so complex that we need computers to help us safely control them. Dr. Jonathan Sprinkle, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, takes us on a tour of how engineering design makes our interactions with systems safer, more cost effective and more enjoyable. He will talk about and exhibit the Cognitive and Autonomous Test Vehicle (CATVehicle), a driverless Car that he is developing with engineering students. He will also discuss and demonstrate his Confluencenter-funded projects including viewing history at your current location through your phone’s camera, and using technology to enable non-technical experts to create innovative technical solutions.
Arizona Big Glass and The Edge of The Universe
September 18, 2013
Presenter: Chris Impey
Distinguished Professor of Astronomy takes us on a tour of mirror-making and the quest to capture light from remote regions of time and space. The largest mirrors in the world are created under the football stadium at the University of Arizona, and we use them to see billions of times fainter than the human eye. Big telescopes are time machines, taking us closer to the big bang, and a time when the universe was hot and dense and no stars of galaxies had yet formed. Join us for a multimedia tour of frontier technology and the limits of cosmic vision.
Border Remix: Nor-Tec, Tijuana and the politics of cultural representation
August 14, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Javier Duran & Omar Pimienta
Dr. Duran, professor of Spanish and Border Studies and Omar Pimienta, interdisciplinary artist, VJ and writer who lives and works in the Tijuana border region, will discuss what happens when we look at the U.S.-Mexico border as a place where asymmetry and tension seem to define identity, discourse and spatial representation. They will explore how Nor-tec emerged from Tijuana and captured a global audience. Marketed as a kind of “ethnic” electronic dance music, Nor-tec incorporates sounds of traditional music from northern Mexico with techno and electronic music. Not-tec questions centralist notions of the border and encapsulates the border’s struggle, resonating with global issues, while holding vastly different meanings for many communities that embrace it.
Summer 2013
Global Tangos: Adventures in the transnational imaginary
June 12, 2013
Presenter: Dr. Melissa Fitch
Dr. Melissa Fitch will take us on a trip around the world to discover how communities of dancers are transforming Argentine tango in unusual ways in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, incorporating it into local cultures and using it as a source of art, activism, therapy, and even social justice. Dr. Fitch will explore the global networks that have emerged amongst artists, dancers and health practitioners over the last 30 years. These collaborations are creating new understandings of the dance that have very little to do with the well-worn, rose-in-mouth clichés.
Spring 2013
Rough & Tumble: Taking Play Seriously
January 15, 2013
Presenters: Yuri Makino, Dr. Dieter Steklis & Netzin Steklis
Filmmaker Yuri Makino and the primatologist team Dr. Dieter Steklis and Netzin Steklis will share clips from their in progress documentary “Rough & Tumble: Taking Play Seriously”, which features the Steklis’ 20 years of filed observation experience studying family dynamics and the play of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The documentary considers what humans can learn form the play of gorillas, as well as dogs and wild dolphins. Human play is usually thought of as a childhood pastime, but play imparts critical skills and provides life-enhancing experiences. While play might seem trivial in our lives, it defines who we are and how we came to be.