A philosophy of performance, politics and composition

This thesis discusses socio-political issues worldwide through philosophical approaches to performance, politics and composition. My research also discuss sound decisions which I regard to be simultaneously an outlet for personal expression, as well as a practical tool to inspire a socio-political change in society. Although the latter is paramount to the methodology of the project, the sound cannot be regarded in isolation as a “political composition”. It can only become truly functional in a political sense through interaction with other art forms, within the context of a specific place and time. My portfolio for this project is of two socio-political projects which are my chief concern. The first project concerns the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I named this project PATH. PATH aims to foster and expand peaceful thought between Jewish and Palestinian civilians in Israel-Palestine. Through performance art, PATH spreads a message of acceptance, unity and brotherhood between our peoples. Above all, PATH demands and end to intolerance, hatred and violence among all the inhabitants of the State of Israel. The second project concerns women’s rights globally. I have realised that although we have come a long way in our struggle for rights for women, great challenges remain. There is a need to unite women and men against a form of oppression that discriminates against 50% of the world’s population. I called this project, For Utopia.

Human-Computer interaction methodologies applied in the evaluation of haptic digital musical instruments

Recent developments in interactive technologies have seen major changes in the manner in which artists, performers, and creative individuals interact with digital music technology; this is due to the increasing variety of interactive technologies that are readily available today. Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) present musicians with performance challenges that are unique to this form of computer music. One of the most significant deviations from conventional acoustic musical instruments is the level of physical feedback conveyed by the instrument to the user. Currently, new interfaces for musical expression are not designed to be as physically communicative as acoustic instruments. Specifically, DMIs are often void of haptic feedback and therefore lack the ability to impart important performance information to the user. Moreover, there currently is no standardised way to measure the effect of this lack of physical feedback. Best practice would expect that there should be a set of methods to effectively, repeatedly, and quantifiably evaluate the functionality, usability, and user experience of DMIs. Earlier theoretical and technological applications of haptics have tried to address device performance issues associated with the lack of feedback in DMI designs and it has been argued that the level of haptic feedback presented to a user can significantly affect the user’s overall emotive feeling towards a musical device. The outcome of the investigations contained within this thesis are intended to inform new haptic interface.