Artist Statement

Performance

Music for Flesh II (MFII) is an interactive music performance for enhanced body. By enabling a computer to sense and interact with the sound of human muscle tissues, the work approaches the biological body as a means for computational artistry. Muscle contractions and blood flow produce low frequency sound waves. Two microphone sensors capture the visceral sounds produced by my body, and send it to a computer. This develops an understanding of my kinetic behaviour by listening to the friction of my flesh. The sound of my carnal tissues is then algorithmically processed by the machine and played back through loudspeakers. The neural and biological signals that drive the performer’s actions become analogous expressive matter, for they emerge as a tangible haunting soundscape. The ISEA2012 performance of MFII is supported by an Alt-w award from New Media Scotland.

• Marco Donnarumma (DE, born in Naples, Italy, in 1984), is a media and performance artist, director, composer and scholar.  marcodonnarumma.com