We are pleased to present The Bafomet’s Star, a performance by artist and mathematician Robert B. Lisek. The project uses different kinds of electromagnetic spectrum, in particular the emission of radiation through the use of radioactive materials such as Thorium for creation of real randomness states. The performance has a character of a ritual, which recombines the ceremony of “Babalon working”, first presented in London in 1910 by a famous British occultist Aleister Crowley, and subsequently conducted by Jack Parsons – a scientist and founder of rocket Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1946 in Los Angeles.
[Oct 25 2013] Robert Lisek: Bafomet’s Star
Robert Lisek
Friday Oct 25 2013 – 7 pm
Admission: FREE
Location: Harvestworks
596 Broadway, #602 | New York, NY 10012 | Phone: 212-431-1130
Subway: F/M/D/B Broadway/Lafayette, R Prince, 6 Bleeker
We are pleased to present The Bafomet’s Star, a performance by artist and mathematician Robert B. Lisek. The project uses different kinds of electromagnetic spectrum, in particular the emission of radiation through the use of radioactive materials such as Thorium for creation of real randomness states. The performance has a character of a ritual, which recombines the ceremony of “Babalon working”, first presented in London in 1910 by a famous British occultist Aleister Crowley, and subsequently conducted by Jack Parsons – a scientist and founder of rocket Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1946 in Los Angeles.
Nuclear Random Generator
People are extremely bad at generating random sequences. People behave in a mechanic and repetitive manner. Human brain aims to conceive reality within periodic sequences and patterns. This is why most sequences and rhythms we encounter in art and music are repetitive. The existing computing machines don’t generate random sequences; the so called pseudo-generators of random numbers are periodic. This is why the project reaches quantum states which are highly randomized and can be used for generating random numbers. The radioactive disintegration of Tor is converted into light-sound impulses.
Real randomness vs. Psedo-randomness
The existing computing machines don’t generate random sequences; the so called pseudo-generators of random numbers are periodic. You can create a formula that generates a pseudo-random number. When designing the formula, the idea is for it to produce a string of numbers that would look random to anyone who did not know what the formula is. Characteristics of a good formula include:
- No repetition: The sequence does not cycle around and repeat itself.
- Good numeric distribution: If the formula is producing random numbers between 0 and 9, the number of zeros, ones, twos, etc. that it produces should be roughly equal over a long period of time.
- Lack of predictability: You have no way to predict what the next number will be unless you know the formula and the seed (the initial value).
I used an old Geiger counter and point it at a source of radiation — like e.g. Torr. The output of the Geiger counter is feed to an interface that will connect to the serial port on a Mac and watch the interval between “clicks”. If the most recent interval is greater than the previous interval I’ll count that as a 1, if less I will count it as a 0, and if equal, I’ll just drop the current interval. Some random bits: 101100110010011111101101101000000100100011010100010011010010110011101
Synthesis and space
Unique sequence of code from geiger counter counter is directly synthesized to sound and light. The whole system is controlled by original software that I developed and coded using Supercollider, Python and LISP. This stage of work is still in progress. An integral part of the project is the multidimensional presentation of data in architecture. The part of project has been exhibited in Fluc Wanne Vienna.
Bio
Robert B. LISEK is an artist and mathematician who focuses on systems and processes (computational, biological, social). He is involved in the number of projects focused on radical art strategies, hacktivism and tactical media. Drawing upon conceptual art, software art and meta-media, his work intentionally defies categorization.
Lisek is a pioneer of art based on AI and bioinformatics. Lisek is also a composer of contemporary music, author of many projects and scores on the intersection of spectral, stochatistic, concret music, musica futurista and noise. He also explores the relationship between bio-molecular technology, code and issues arising from network technologies by combining his DNA code with codes of viruses and recently by testing influence of radioactive materials on biological entities. Lisek is also a scientist who conducts a research in the area of theory of partially ordered sets in relation with artificial general intelligence and complexity theory.
Author of many exhibitions and concerts, among others: NUCLEAR RANDOM GENERATOR – Fluc Wane Vienna, TERROR ENGINES – WORM Center Rotterdam, Secure Insecurity – ISEA Istanbul; DEMONS – Venice Biennale (accompanying events); Manifesto vs. Manifesto – Ujazdowski Castel of Contemporary Art, Warsaw; NGRU – FILE, Sao Paulo; NEST – ARCO Art Fair, Madrid; Float – DMAC Harvestworks and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NYC; WWAI – Siggraph, Los Angeles; Falsecodes – Red Gate Gallery, Beijing; Gengine – National Gallery, Warsaw; Flextex – Byzantine Museum, Athens, FXT- ACA Media Festival, Tokyo and ISEA, Nagoya. more: www.fundamental.art.pl/
http://fundamental.art.pl/RANDOM.html