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Art, Music, and ‘Data in Our Lives’

Trio of Events Nov. 7-9 to Conclude Ohio Wesleyan Colloquium

DELAWARE, Ohio – Art, music, and “Data in Our Lives” will intersect in three free events Nov. 7-9 as part of Ohio Wesleyan’s 2016-2017 Sagan National Colloquium.

The events – a recital featuring the piano and 40-channel 1-bit electronics, an exhibit for drawing machines that constantly produce art, and a lecture by the man who created both the music and the machines – will conclude this fall’s colloquium.

The events kick off at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 when artist and composer Tristan Perich discusses his work, which is “inspired by the aesthetic simplicity of math, physics and code.” Perich will speak in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.

He studied math, music, and computer science at Columbia University, and earned his master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His musical compositions have been described by The WIRE Magazine as “an austere meeting of electronic and organic.”

His album “1-Bit Symphony” is an electronic composition in five movements on a single microchip that “performs” its music live when turned on. In discussing Perich’s music, The Wall Street Journal stated, “[I]ts oscillations have an intense, hypnotic force and a surprising emotional depth.”

At 7 p.m. Nov. 8, pianist Vicky Chow will perform Perich’s “Surface Image,” in Jemison Auditorium inside Sanborn Hall, 23 Elizabeth St., Delaware.

Multiple loudspeakers, each wired to hand-built electronics, will accompany Chow, providing what has been described as “a flurry of dazzling one-bit sounds, simultaneously entangling and unraveling” during her hour-long performance.

Chow performs with the New York-based sextet Bang on a Can All-Stars and is a founding member of DUO X88 and six keyboard ensemble GRANDBAND. Learn more at www.vickychow.com.

At 4 p.m. Nov. 9, OWU’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum will host an opening reception for Perich’s “Machine Wall Drawing, an installation of three drawing machines designed and built by the artist.

The machines create drawings using the precision of computer code coupled with the randomness of the physical environment, such as the ripple of the string attaching the pen to the machine’s motor.

Following the opening, Perich’s machines will be on display through Dec. 15 at the museum, 60 S. Sandusky St., Delaware.

Learn more about Perich and his art and music at www.tristanperich.com. Visit www.owu.edu/ross for more information about the museum, including its hours and future exhibitions.

Established in 1984, Ohio Wesleyan’s Sagan National Colloquium annually explores an issue of national and international significance from multiple academic angles. The colloquium forges links between liberal arts learning and the lifelong civic art of informed, involved citizenship. It is endowed with a gift from 1948 OWU alumni John and Margaret Sagan, now deceased. Learn more about the colloquium at www.owu.edu/snc.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers nearly 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.