Joshua Dickinson is a composer and computational artist. He received his BA in music composition from Columbia University in 2010 and is currently pursuing a masters degree in Audio Engineering from the Media Art and Technology department in the University of California Santa Barbara. His works have been featured in a number of conferences and galleries, including the Edward Cella Gallery in Los Angeles. While exploring human-computer interaction and artificial creativity, his pieces address the digital simulation and quantization of otherwise purely organic phenomena.
Muhammad Hafiz is a new media artist, born in Penang, Malaysia in 1983. He received his BFA degree in new media from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang in 2007 and his MFA in computer art with a concentration in interactive installation from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2010. Hafiz’s video and installations have been included in numerous exhibitions. His works create an immersive environment through a blend of programming and interactivity, which invites the viewer to question the boundaries in human/machine interactions and ultimately, the meaning of communication.
Drip is an interactive sound sculpture consisting of 16 tuned metal bars hung from an iron frame. Attached to the frame above each bar are solenoid water valves that are be triggered by an Arduino microcontroller. As the valves are opened and closed, drops of water pass through them falling onto each of the sixteen bars producing rhythms and melodies which are sequenced in real time and which can be altered by the audience’s interaction via light sensors embedded in the piece.. The resulting sound is acoustically amplified through attached piezoelectric microphones. Visitors can also interact with the piece by directly tapping the bars or plucking the suspending nylon wires. The resulting soundscape is something like a surrealist version of rain falling on a tin roof or a collection of gongs being struck in chaotic mathematical patterns.