(HKEX) Asian Experimental Video Festival in Hong Kong

Ladies, and gentlemen, we are including the events from HKEX in this semester’s colloquium program. The Asian Experimental Video Festival is organized by the School of Creative Media and aims to introduce Asian experimental videos to the Hong Kong Audience.

Festival Schedule

Venue: M6094 Future Cinema Studio, 6/F Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, City University of Hong Kong

1 Apr, 2014 (Tue.)
7:30 pm – 10 pm
Opening Forum:  Experimental Media and Society

2 Apr, 2014 (Wed.)
4 pm – 6 pm
South Korea Screening + Post-screening discussion: Spacial Trace
7 pm – 9 pm
Japan Screening + Post-screening discussion: “3.11” Program Note — We Will Remember

3 Apr, 2014 (Thu.)
4 pm – 6 pm
Malaysia Screening + Post-screening discussion: Sun Shower
7 pm – 9 pm
Hong Kong Screening + Post-screening discussion: Exodus of nowhere. Episode one

4 Apr, 2014 (Fri.)
4 pm – 6 pm
Macau Screening + Post-screening discussion: Macau Experimental Video Works
7 pm – 9 pm
Mainland China Screening + Post-screening discussion: The Spectacles of Chinese Society in the Era of Mutation

To find out more about HKEX, visit their website @ hkex2014.wordpress.com

Dr. David Kung – Guest Speaker

We have the pleasure of having professor of mathematics, Dr. David Kung as our guest speaker in the upcoming colloquium session on the 25th of March. Dr. Kung will be talking about the relationship of mathematics and music. The venue is as usual, on the 6/F, in the Future Cinema, and will begin at 5:00pm.

  “Harmonious Equations: A Mathematical Exploration of Music”

Mathematics and music seem to come from different spheres (arts and sciences), yet they share an amazing array of commonalities. We will explore these connections by examining the musical experience from a mathematical perspective. The mathematical study of a single vibrating string unlocks a world of musical overtones and harmonics. Understanding those vibrations allows you to fool people with mind-bending auditory illusions – including one you hear half the time you pick up a phone. Finally every violin note resonates within the wooden violin, similar to how wine glasses and bridges respond to certain vibrations. Throughout the talk, mathematical concepts will come to life with demonstrations and musical examples played by the speaker, an amateur violinist.

BIO: Dr. David Kung is Professor of Mathematics at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He earned his B.A. in Mathematics and Physics and his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Professor Kung’s musical education began at an early age with violin lessons. As he progressed, he studied with one of the pioneers of the Suzuki method and attended the prestigious Interlochen music camp. While completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics, he performed with the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Professor Kung’s academic work focuses on mathematics education. Deeply concerned with providing equal opportunities for all math students, he has led efforts to establish Emerging Scholars Programs at institutions across the country. His numerous teaching awards include the Homer L. Dodge Award for Excellence in Teaching by Junior Faculty, given by St. Mary’s College, and the John M. Smith Teaching Award, given by the Maryland-District of Columbia-Virginia Section of the Mathematical Association of America.

Professor Kung’s innovative classes, including Mathematics for Social Justice and Math, Music, and the Mind, have helped establish St. Mary’s as one of the preeminent liberal arts programs in mathematics. In addition to his academic pursuits, Professor Kung continues to be an active musician, playing chamber music with students and serving as the concertmaster of his community orchestra.

Laibach – Guest Lecture

The upcoming CityU 30th Anniversary Cultural Festival includes a lecture with the Slovenian industrial, neo-classical band Laibach. The lecture will double as a Creative Media Colloquium session for that week. Take note that unlike previous colloquium sessions, we will be meeting on the 21st of March, which is a Friday. The venue will be at the Multimedia Theatre on the 1st floor, and will start at 7pm. Do try to make it, as it is a rare occasion to hear members of the band talk about their history, politics, music, and artwork.

Laibach will be playing a concert at the Vine Centre in Wan Chai the following day. For more information, check out their website!

Bill Hsu – Guest Lecture

Hello everybody! We are very excited to have professor Bill Hsu from San Francisco State University with us for our next colloquium session on the 11th of March. Bill will share with us about several audio-visual systems that he has used in performances and interactive installations, recently in venues such as the Conference on New Interfaces in Musical Expression in Korea, and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival.  The visual components are primarily based on physics-based simulations or complex generative processes. Real-time audio or gestural input can influence the system behavior; the details are unpredictable and constantly evolving. Bill’s work draws inspiration from a variety of sources, such as complex natural processes and extreme weather phenomena, sounds and behaviors of non-linear mechanical systems, optical illusions, non-idiomatic free improvisation, and experimental fiction. We will be in the 6/F Future Cinema at the usual time of 5:00pm.

BIO: Dr. William Tsun-yuk Hsu is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science of San Francisco State University, and he is interested interactive computer music, high performance computing and audiovisual performance systems.

To see some of Bill’s audiovisual stuff, check out this page, and here‘s a really cool installation project he’s working right now that is well worth taking a look at!