Mechanical strings

[Edward theurj Berge]

This is truly amazing.

 

[Douglas R Wallack]

Wow! Could we call this the imaginary, transcendental, and divinely elegant kludge.

More seriously, awesome indeed!

Thanks for posting, Ed.

[kelamuni]

In 2234 the peace-nicks took over Planet Earth (renamed Gaia), and they were wondering what to do with the Alien creatures that the military had been keeping in cryogenics for some time. They decided to keep the Alien creatures, but to breed their violence out of them. As they developed the Alien genes, they discovered that the Alien creatures had very strong musical impulses. And so it was determined that the Alien creatures would help supply music to a degenerate human species.

[Edward theurj Berge]

My first thought too was that it appeared to be some kind of alien arachnid creature.We always assume such aliens are hostile and out to destroy or at least assimilate us for their evil designs. What if they are out to provide us with peace through art, per kela's scenario?

I'm not sure if the animation is that the device is CG and appears to be playing the music, or whether it is a real device that actually plays the music. In the former case it is extremely well done, since it is accurate to the notes and fretting. But if the latter case it brings up the issue of where the art resides. If the "artist" is mechanical and can play such moving music, where is the emotional movement? Strictly in our response to it, regardless of the player? Granted we might say that a human composed the music and built the machine, so it was those human elements that infused the art for the machine. But computers can now compose music as elegant and moving as this piece, and machines such as this can play it, so wherein does the art reside? Especially if there is no 1st person in its creation and performance? Granted there is a 1st person to appreciate it, so where does "person" enter into it if we accept the foundation of kennilinguist personal perspectives?

[e]

Art is in the eye of the beholder. If the computer cannot tell us what the intentions were or how they felt while or after the art was created and played, then it's obvious that it's your 1st person aesthetic that is in play here.

 

Ken Wilber 1, Edward 0

 

(just kidding around with the last line Ed!! :-)