Videos

Part 1: Bird Song Diamond: mapping the acoustic network of birds (with John Brumley)

Presenter
March 10, 2016
Abstract
Part 1: Bird Song Diamond: mapping the acoustic network of birds (with John Brumley) Victoria Vesna University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Arts The first part of this tutorial is a short intro of my journey as an artist exploring how technology and scientific innovations influence individual and collective behavior and perceptions. By default, addressing such large issues required collaborations with computer, bio, nano, neuro scientists and this also prompted formation of the UCLA Art|Sci center a decade ago. As a background to the Bird Song Diamond project, I will briefly show and discuss some the experiences and works that influenced my approach to working with evolutionary biologist Charles Taylor’s research project: Mapping the Acoustic Network of Birds. “The intent of this project is to permit humans to understand the grammar and meaning of bird songs. Recent advances in sensor arrays, computation, and computational linguistics finally make this long-sought goal achievable.” (Taylor, 2011) By digitizing and categorizing bird songs and their circumstances, one begins to understand their grammar and meaning.