June 01, 2005
Michel Waisvisz at CHI2005
Physical Touch and Electronic Instruments
Michel Waisvisz is known for his highly physical, sensitive, and ecstatic electronic music performance using The Hands, a gestural sensor instrument that he developed at the STEIM foundation in Amsterdam. Waisvisz has since the late sixties developed new ways to achieve physical touch with electronic music instruments; sometimes literally touching the electricity inside the instruments and thereby becoming a thinking component of the machine. He was amongst the first to play with synthesizers on stage, and very early developed and performed using what are now called gestural controllers. He also is the inventor of the CrackleBox and The Web and many other instruments based on touch interaction.
Besides solo performances and composing for music theatre, he has collaborated with a great variety of musicians/composers: Laurie Anderson, Steve Lacy, DJ Spooky, Najib Cheradi, Moniek Toebosch, The Nieuw Ensemble, Willem Breuker, The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Maarten Altena, etc. Waisvisz is the co-founder of electrical sound festivals in Holland.
The following are unanswered questions posed to Mr. Waisvisz at the ACM CHI 2005 conference in Portland Oregon. It is our hope that Mr. Waisvisz will have an opportunity to answer a few of them for us. [blogged by Connor on HML.Blog]
Posted by jo at June 1, 2005 07:24 AM
