Prof. Nicolas Collins from the Art Institute of Chicago, famous for his handmade electronic music, delivered a lecture at TNUA on September 15 at the invitation of the Center for Art and Technology.
He not only demonstrated the process of making handmade musical instruments but also gave an improvised performance with the handmade instruments along with some students. Prof. Collins’ book, Handmade Electronic Music – The Art of Hardware Hacking, has influenced the world of new electronic music.
Prof. Collins said he often travels around the world to give lectures and performances. He will look for discarded tools for making instruments wherever he goes.
He demonstrated his point by showing the circuit board he found in France. He said it was an old computer part that for ordinary engineers would be totally useless. But for him it would become an electronic instrument after some simple transformation.
With different circuit designs, Prof. Collins can turn a cigar box, a nail clipper or any ordinary things into an electronic instrument.
He said he enjoys the feeling of playing handmade electronic music with others. He demonstrated the fun by giving an improvised performance along with six students from the Department of New Media – a show enhanced by special effects he created with candles and other props.
Prof. Collins, born in 1954 in New York City, is a former student of Alvin Lucier. He received a B.A. and M.A. from Wesleyan University. A composer, Prof. Collins has worked with pianist David Tudor and many other world-renowned musicians.
He lived in Europe in the 1990s, and served as artistic co-director at STEIM (Studio for Electro Instrumental Music) in Amsterdam, and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) composer-in-residence in Berlin. Since 1999 he has been teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago, and is currently editor-in-chief of the Leonardo Music Journal.