Gabriel Chi | Beyond Human: The Role of Posthuman Aesthetics in the Future of Music Perception & Composition

 
Beyond Human is a project that explores the ways in which the philosophical framework of posthumanism can illuminate new paths of music perception and composition. As technology continues to advance, there is an increasing need for tech to be seamlessly integrated into our daily lives. This will inevitably lead to the incorporation of technology into our physical bodies, interlinking with the human sensory experience. The potential future in which this may occur has led artists to experiment with the incorporation of these concepts into their own artwork. For example, projects such as the Cyborg Foundation, led by Neil Harbisson, researches the connections between the human body, technology and art through the use of biosensors. Adhering to principles of posthumanism, artists like Harbisson utilize their biosensors to create unique ways of perceiving and creating art, illustrating the new ways in which these technologies can enhance artistic practices. Similarly, this project seeks to investigate how these new biosensing technologies can help artists, specifically musicians, find new ways to perceive and arrange music.
Beyond Human takes form as a live audiovisual performance, consisting of two participants. One participant wears an EEG sensor which feeds their brainwave signal into Ableton (Digital Audio Workstation), allowing them to control parameters on a software synthesizer purely through brain activity. Their signal is visualized through a DMX light bar, allowing the participant to see their brain wave response in real time. The other participant facilitates the signal, changing the arrangement as they are influenced by the signals created by the other participant. The result is an interdependent process in which both participants rely on each other to continue producing the visual, auditory, and bodily changes of the performance.
As technology continues to advance, the lines that divide a creator and their tools will become increasingly harder to differentiate. The idea that the process of making art will be automated or dictated by biosensing technology is not far-fetched. The existence of groups like the Cyborg Foundation are proof that there is not only a demand but also a validity to these forms of artistic creation. Thus, Beyond Human not only serves as a demonstration of implementing biosensors within a musical context, but also illustrates the new forms of artistic expression that can be created through the framework of posthumanism.