“Lost“ and “Finale”, performed by Mary Bichner and Planetary Quartet during "Synesthesia Suite" at the Museum of Science Boston's Charles Hayden Planetarium on April 4th, 2019. In order to display the various colors and impressions that Mary, a polymodal synesthete, experiences when listening to music, the concert featured both synesthesia-inspired visuals created by the Museum of Science Boston's award-winning planetarium team; and sound-responsive, synesthesia-displaying LED garments created by MIT's Neoperceptions initiative. Presented in partnership with The Museum of Science Boston, The Neoperceptions Initiative @ The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and SciHub @ Arizona State University.
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“Lost“ and “Finale” Music and lyrics by: Mary Bichner
Performed by: Mary Bichner (vocals/piano), Sonia Deng (violin), Anna Stromer (viola I), Dominick Douglas (viola II), and Timothy Paek (cello)
Planetarium visuals by: The Museum of Science, Boston ("Lost") and Thomas Sanchez Lengeling ("Finale")
Garment design by: Siranush Babakhanova
Garment audio system by: Brodi Elwood
Garment lighting by: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Terry Kang
Software and hardware management by: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Brent Smith
MIT/ASU Scientific advisors: Frank Wilczek and Nathan Newman
Audio recorded and mixed by: Joel Simches
Video recorded by: Jonathan Beckley
Video edited by: Brandon Johnson / Allthingsharmony
Special thanks to: The Council for the Arts at MIT / CAMIT
Neoperceptions participated in the Showcase of MIT Design Week 2019 interactively exhibiting the garments and displaying videos from the “Synesthesia Suite“ performance. On the photos: Siranush Babakhanova, Veronica Apsan (Founder of Fashion Aficionado on Apple TV, who kindly interviewed the Neoperceptions team), MIT President Rafael Reif (center of the group photo). Photo Credit: Valentine Edwards and Francisco Caban.
PROJECT CREDITS:
Planetarium visuals by: The Museum of Science, Boston and Thomas Sanchez Lengeling [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment design by: Siranush Babakhanova [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment audio system by: Brodi Elwood [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment lighting by: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Terry Kang [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Software and hardware management: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling [Neoperceptions @ MIT] and Brent Smith [SciHub @ ASU]
Planetarium illumination by: Justin Pye and Brent Smith [SciHub @ ASU]
MIT/ASU Scientific advisors: Frank Wilczek and Nathan Newman
On April 4th 2019, synesthetic orchestral composer Mary Bichner was honored to partner with The Museum of Science Boston, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Arizona State University for the return of the "Synesthesia Suite" concert series.
Taking place inside Boston's state-of-the-art Charles Hayden Planetarium during two sold-out shows, this immersive musical experience featured live performances of Bichner's compositions paired with stunning visuals directly inspired by her polymodal synesthesia, allowing audience members to “hear” color and “see” sound just as Bichner does when she listens to music.
The synesthetic visuals for the 2019 version of “Synesthesia Suite” were presented in two exciting and innovative forms: a collection of dazzling 360° videos created by the Museum of Science's award-winning artistic team for the planetarium's full dome; as well a series of entirely new immersive LED-based technologies — including audio-responsive wearables and room illuminators — which were developed especially for “Synesthesia Suite” by the renowned scientists of MIT’s Neoperceptions Initiative and Arizona State University’s SciHub, under the direction of theoretical physicists Frank Wilczek (Nobel laureate and Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics) and Nathan Newman (Lamonte H. Lawrence Professor in Solid State Science). The creation of these new technologies was made possible by a generous grant awarded to the Neoperceptions team by the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT).
The next edition of “Synesthesia Suite” is currently being planned for the autumn of 2019 — more details will be made available shortly!
PROJECT CREDITS:
Planetarium visuals by: The Museum of Science, Boston and Thomas Sanchez Lengeling [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment design by: Siranush Babakhanova [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment audio system by: Brodi Elwood [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Garment lighting by: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling and Terry Kang [Neoperceptions @ MIT]
Software and hardware management: Thomas Sanchez Lengeling [Neoperceptions @ MIT] and Brent Smith [SciHub @ ASU]
Planetarium illumination by: Justin Pye and Brent Smith [SciHub @ ASU]
MIT/ASU Scientific advisors: Frank Wilczek and Nathan Newman
Art, Culture and Technology and MIT Architecture Department - owned space in Media Lab, the beautiful and resourceful Maker Space under the direction of Graham Yager, along with Fisher Lab at MIT and ASU Schi Hub kindly provided us space to realize our ideas. On the pictures you can see Thomas Sanchez Lengeling, Siranush Babakhanova, Terry Kang. Photo Credit: Afika Nyati.
MIT 8.S50 IAP 2019
Taught by Prof Frank Wilczek Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics (TAed by Neoperceptions team)
1:00pm -5:00pm on TR Room: 44-013
Course description This will be project-based course centering on simple technology for expanding perception (especially color perception). We will emphasize skill acquisition through hands-on experience. The course will begin with lectures on lectures on perception theory and, in parallel, assignments involving Arduino and python programming. Students will then choose a project to pursue through a Sprint process, leading to prototype construction and testing. Coming out of the course, you will have acquired basic understanding of Python programming, awareness of the available libraries and software tools, basic understanding of Arduino capabilities and programming, basic understanding of hyperspectral imaging, data formats, and information processing, basic awareness of available sensors, and basic understanding of the Sprint process and use of SLACK channels – and made something interesting.
In Fall 2018 the group applied for funding and support to the Council for Arts at MIT and was granted the largest award.
The mask was inspired by radiolarians, unicellular sea creatures that are limited in perception of the world around them due to the shell that helps them interface with the surroundings. The idea of the project is to stress that we all are very similar in limitations of our perception of the world to those little radiolarians. The information from the world penetrates our limited and transforming senses and communicates between brain that carries limited architecture and dynamics. Light and sound are being transformed and perceived differently from inside the mask but the mask is merely a manifestation of the prison that each one of us carries on our shoulders that does not let the mind to experience the reality in its fullest.
This piece was made in the Fall of 2018.
Designer: Siranush Babakhanova
Picture Credit: Garrett Souza
Model: Siranush Babakhanova
Editing: Siranush Babakhanova
Acknowledgements: Kind regards and gratitude is expressed to Azra Aksamija, Professor in Art, Culture and Technology Department at MIT, Lab manager and artist Graham Yaeger and MIT Maker Space as well as Seth Riskin, Light Dancer and head of the Visual Studio at MIT.
The first iterations of the product are scheduled for Spring and Fall of 2019 in Boston state-of-art Hayden Planetarium in Museum of Science.
Over the summer of 2018, the group continues to work — MIT Physics and Media Lab researchers, Arizona State University researchers as well as composer Mary Bichner prototype and conceptually develop the project.
In Spring 2018 Frank Wilczek has given a special subject in Physics at MIT titled Color Perception. Mary Bichner (who happened to be a friend to one of the students, Siranush Babakhanova) was a guest artist in the class and the project that emerged from conversation with her became the foundation of the Neoperceptions today.