Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events

Wade Marynowsky; Julian Knowles; Oliver Bown; Sam Ferguson

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events

Wade Marynowsky^*, Julian Knowles, Oliver Bown, Sam Ferguson

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines how artist Wade Marynowsky’s recent robotic performance art projects are framed within musical genres: Opera, in Robot Opera (2015), Ambient/Glitch, in Synthesiser-Robot (2017); and Disco, in The Ghosts of Roller Disco (2020). By positioning the projects within known music genres, the research expands the canon of Cultural Robotics by providing platforms that allow wider communities to understand the presentation of robotic performance as cultural events within a historical context. Notions of robotic agency, dramaturgy, choreography, robotic musical gesture, and robotic musicianship are explored across three case studies, which are presented in the contexts of live performance festivals and durational exhibitions: (1) Robot Opera, a dramaturgically designed, interactive opera for eight, larger than life-sized robots; (2) Synthesiser-Robot, a solo autonomous robot performance for a repurposed industrial robot arm, theUR3, and a hardware-software interface, the Ableton Push; and (3) The Ghosts of Roller Disco, a choreographed performance for eight robotic roller skates. The research highlights the importance of robotic agency by applying autonomous and interactive movement, localised sound, and surround sound design in creating immersive and engaging robotic performance art experiences.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Cultural robotics
Subtitle of host publication	social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies
Editors	Belinda J. Dunstan, Jeffrey T. K. V. Koh, Deborah Turnbull Tillman, Scott Andrew Brown
Place of Publication	Cham, Switzerland
Publisher	Springer, Springer Nature
Chapter	14
Pages	219-235
Number of pages	17
ISBN (Electronic)	9783031281389
ISBN (Print)	9783031281372
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14
Publication status	Published - 2023

Publication series

Name	Springer Series on Cultural Computing
Publisher	Springer
ISSN (Print)	2195-9056
ISSN (Electronic)	2195-9064

Keywords

musical robotics
performance
electronic music
experimental art
media art

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

Cite this

Marynowsky, W., Knowles, J., Bown, O., & Ferguson, S. (2023). Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events. In B. J. Dunstan, J. T. K. V. Koh, D. T. Tillman, & S. A. Brown (Eds.), Cultural robotics: social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies (pp. 219-235). (Springer Series on Cultural Computing). Springer, Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

Marynowsky, Wade ; Knowles, Julian ; Bown, Oliver et al. / Sonic robotics : musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events. Cultural robotics: social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies. editor / Belinda J. Dunstan ; Jeffrey T. K. V. Koh ; Deborah Turnbull Tillman ; Scott Andrew Brown. Cham, Switzerland : Springer, Springer Nature, 2023. pp. 219-235 (Springer Series on Cultural Computing).

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title = "Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events",

abstract = "This chapter examines how artist Wade Marynowsky{\textquoteright}s recent robotic performance art projects are framed within musical genres: Opera, in Robot Opera (2015), Ambient/Glitch, in Synthesiser-Robot (2017); and Disco, in The Ghosts of Roller Disco (2020). By positioning the projects within known music genres, the research expands the canon of Cultural Robotics by providing platforms that allow wider communities to understand the presentation of robotic performance as cultural events within a historical context. Notions of robotic agency, dramaturgy, choreography, robotic musical gesture, and robotic musicianship are explored across three case studies, which are presented in the contexts of live performance festivals and durational exhibitions: (1) Robot Opera, a dramaturgically designed, interactive opera for eight, larger than life-sized robots; (2) Synthesiser-Robot, a solo autonomous robot performance for a repurposed industrial robot arm, theUR3, and a hardware-software interface, the Ableton Push; and (3) The Ghosts of Roller Disco, a choreographed performance for eight robotic roller skates. The research highlights the importance of robotic agency by applying autonomous and interactive movement, localised sound, and surround sound design in creating immersive and engaging robotic performance art experiences.",

keywords = "musical robotics, performance, electronic music, experimental art, media art",

author = "Wade Marynowsky and Julian Knowles and Oliver Bown and Sam Ferguson",

year = "2023",

doi = "10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9\_14",

language = "English",

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series = "Springer Series on Cultural Computing",

publisher = "Springer, Springer Nature",

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booktitle = "Cultural robotics",

address = "United States",

}

Marynowsky, W, Knowles, J, Bown, O & Ferguson, S 2023, Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events. in BJ Dunstan, JTKV Koh, DT Tillman & SA Brown (eds), Cultural robotics: social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies. Springer Series on Cultural Computing, Springer, Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events. / Marynowsky, Wade; Knowles, Julian; Bown, Oliver et al.
Cultural robotics: social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies. ed. / Belinda J. Dunstan; Jeffrey T. K. V. Koh; Deborah Turnbull Tillman; Scott Andrew Brown. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Springer Nature, 2023. p. 219-235 (Springer Series on Cultural Computing).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Sonic robotics

T2 - musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events

AU - Marynowsky, Wade

AU - Knowles, Julian

AU - Bown, Oliver

AU - Ferguson, Sam

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - This chapter examines how artist Wade Marynowsky’s recent robotic performance art projects are framed within musical genres: Opera, in Robot Opera (2015), Ambient/Glitch, in Synthesiser-Robot (2017); and Disco, in The Ghosts of Roller Disco (2020). By positioning the projects within known music genres, the research expands the canon of Cultural Robotics by providing platforms that allow wider communities to understand the presentation of robotic performance as cultural events within a historical context. Notions of robotic agency, dramaturgy, choreography, robotic musical gesture, and robotic musicianship are explored across three case studies, which are presented in the contexts of live performance festivals and durational exhibitions: (1) Robot Opera, a dramaturgically designed, interactive opera for eight, larger than life-sized robots; (2) Synthesiser-Robot, a solo autonomous robot performance for a repurposed industrial robot arm, theUR3, and a hardware-software interface, the Ableton Push; and (3) The Ghosts of Roller Disco, a choreographed performance for eight robotic roller skates. The research highlights the importance of robotic agency by applying autonomous and interactive movement, localised sound, and surround sound design in creating immersive and engaging robotic performance art experiences.

AB - This chapter examines how artist Wade Marynowsky’s recent robotic performance art projects are framed within musical genres: Opera, in Robot Opera (2015), Ambient/Glitch, in Synthesiser-Robot (2017); and Disco, in The Ghosts of Roller Disco (2020). By positioning the projects within known music genres, the research expands the canon of Cultural Robotics by providing platforms that allow wider communities to understand the presentation of robotic performance as cultural events within a historical context. Notions of robotic agency, dramaturgy, choreography, robotic musical gesture, and robotic musicianship are explored across three case studies, which are presented in the contexts of live performance festivals and durational exhibitions: (1) Robot Opera, a dramaturgically designed, interactive opera for eight, larger than life-sized robots; (2) Synthesiser-Robot, a solo autonomous robot performance for a repurposed industrial robot arm, theUR3, and a hardware-software interface, the Ableton Push; and (3) The Ghosts of Roller Disco, a choreographed performance for eight robotic roller skates. The research highlights the importance of robotic agency by applying autonomous and interactive movement, localised sound, and surround sound design in creating immersive and engaging robotic performance art experiences.

KW - musical robotics

KW - performance

KW - electronic music

KW - experimental art

KW - media art

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85159447978

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

M3 - Chapter

SN - 9783031281372

T3 - Springer Series on Cultural Computing

SP - 219

EP - 235

BT - Cultural robotics

A2 - Dunstan, Belinda J.

A2 - Koh, Jeffrey T. K. V.

A2 - Tillman, Deborah Turnbull

A2 - Brown, Scott Andrew

PB - Springer, Springer Nature

CY - Cham, Switzerland

ER -

Marynowsky W, Knowles J, Bown O, Ferguson S. Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events. In Dunstan BJ, Koh JTKV, Tillman DT, Brown SA, editors, Cultural robotics: social robots and their emergent cultural ecologies. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, Springer Nature. 2023. p. 219-235. (Springer Series on Cultural Computing). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-28138-9_14

Sonic robotics: musical genres as platforms for understanding robotic performance as cultural events

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Robot opera: A Gesamtkunstwerk for the 21st century

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