Paloma Kop

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SYNTHETIC FOREST at Coaxial

Synthetic Forest performance/installation at Coaxial

During the last week of October, Andrei and I did an artist residency at Coaxial Arts in Los Angeles as Phase Shift Collective. During our our time there, we created an installation/environment which also served as our stage and setup for a live performance, titled Synthetic Forest.

The concept was inspired by the time we spent camping in national forests during our five-month road trip across the US. Throughout our travels, we made video and sound recordings in nature, which we sampled and remixed in the performance. We wanted to create an environment which combined materials from the natural landscape with the synthetic elements of our electronic sound and video processing techniques. In our installation, we used real and synthetic plants and moss, chalk on the floor, overhead projectors, CRT screens, and a fog machine.

Andrei performed live video using a combination of liquid light show techniques, camera feedback, footage from our walks in the forest, and gravity_waaaves, a video processor/frame buffer device they created.

I performed quadraphonic sound with field recording samples, a foley box containing dried leaves, bells, a kalimba and an AM radio, synths, and granular and spatial processing. It was my first time performing music in quad, so it was exciting to create an immersive sonic landscape with Coaxial's multichannel speaker setup.

I've known about Coaxial for a long time, and it was really cool to finally get to be there in person. Many thanks to KA, Chloe, Eva, and Brock for their help and hospitality. We look forward to visiting again in the future!

📺 Watch a recording of our performance: Youtube | Peertube

Installation/performance setup Front windows of coaxial Me performing sound Andrei performing video Performance Installation/sound performance setup Video performance setup Sound performance setup Overhead projector installation CRT installation Me and Andrei Me in performance Rehearsal selfie Close up on part of my sound setup Me and Andrei in front of Coaxial

Artist Talk at CalArts

Artist Talk at CalArts

On October 23, we did a Phase Shift artist talk/workshop at California Institute for the Arts in Santa Clarita, CA. We visited a class called Creative Technology Forum with professor Josephine Shetty. Andrei and I took turns showing some of our individual artwork and collaborations, and then the students tried out some of our video feedback setups in an interactive demo at the end.

I was excited to see that the students in this class were very engaged with their own unique projects and art practices. They asked insightful questions which showed that what we were doing was relevant to their own work. I was impressed with the level of initiative and self-direction of the students, and the level of creative cross-pollination that seemed to be taking place within the class.

Many thanks to Josephine for having us in her class and to Michael Bailey, audiovisual artist and CalArts student, for inviting us!

Workshop/Talk at Indexical

Workshop at Indexical in Santa Cruz

On October 19, we led a Phase Shift workshop and artist talk at Indexical in Santa Cruz, with special guests Allen Riley and Denise Gallant. It was wonderful to see Allen, who is a good friend and former Brooklyn neighbor, now working on his PhD at UC Santa Cruz. It was also my first time meeting Denise, who has been working with video synthesis since the 1970s!

Michael Masaru Flora, my former classmate at Alfred and fellow audiovisual artist, helped us set up the event. He's now the Executive Director at Indexical! I'd heard lots of good things about this venue, so it was cool to finally get to be there in person.

We had a great turnout. Most of the folks who came were somehow associated with UC Santa Cruz. We had a record number of video game developers. The event was a combination of an artist talk and a workshop, beginning with each of us sharing about our art practice and demonstrating some techniques, and ending with an interactive opportunity to explore our tools.

Much gratitude to Allen, Denise, and Michael. We look forward to visiting Santa Cruz again!

Allen Riley presenting Folks exploring video art 1 Folks exploring video art 2 Folks exploring video art 3 Denise Gallant documentary screening Andrei and me talking

Workshop in San Francisco

Workshop at Cat Factory in San Francisco

On October 14, we led a Phase Shift video art workshop at Cat Factory, a diy space in San Francisco. Evan Sirchuk helped us organize it, and also invited us to visit the Internet Archive where he works. We had more help and gear lending from Nathan Trachimowicz, Chris Farstad, and Fetz A/V. Many televisions were activated with mesmerizing patterns, and fun and educational times were had by all.

Two people controlling a grid wipe with camera and mixer feedback Hands hold coral in front of a camera feedback loop making tropical colors Person crouching and manipulating a large green spiral Nathan holding his hand inside a black and white feedback spiral Person experimenting with liquid lights on a visual presenter LCD TV with clear case showing an inverted feedback spiral Silver CRT tv showing geometric wipe pattern Group photo at end of workshop

Video Artist Meetup at Syzygy

Video Artist Meetup at Syzygy in San Francisco

On October 12, we hosted a Phase Shift Video Artist Meetup at Syzygy in San Francisco, in collaboration with AV Club, a local art collective for technology-based performers. We set up an interactive demo of some of our gear, including Andrei's gravity_waaaves, waaave_pool and artificial_life. Our friend Sean Russell Hallowell also brought his self-built modular video synthesizer (and we had some fun sending signals back and forth between our systems).

Syzygy is a really nice community-run space, and the AV Club there is an awesome hub of algorave folks in the area. I had a great time meeting a bunch of new people, including Sarah GHP, a fellow video artist who I'd only known from online.