[ISEA2018] Paper: Jiayue Cecilia Wu — Promoting Underrepresented Culture through Media Arts Collaboration

Abstract

Keywords: Art-science collaboration, multimedia live performance, mediation technology, body movement, sensing technology, machine learning, HCI, augmented-reality, posthuman, artist identity and ownership, underrepresented culture, cultural arts.

This paper presents the practice of designing mediation technologies as artistic tools to expand the human repertoire. Three artscience collaborations: Mandala, Imagining the Universe, and
Resonance of the Heart are elaborated as proof-of-concept case studies. Scientifically, the empirical research examines the mappings from (bodily) action to (sound/visual) perception in technology-mediated performing art. Theoretically, the author synthesizes media arts practices on a level of defining general design principles and post-human artistic identities. Technically, the author implements machine learning techniques, digital audio/visual signal processing, and sensing technology to explore post-human artistic identities and give voice to underrepresented groups. Realized by a group of multinational media artists, computer  engineers, audio engineers, and cognitive neuroscientists, this work preserves, promotes, and further explores underrepresented cultures with emerging technologies.

  • Jiayue Cecilia Wu, Originally from Beijing, Jiayue Cecilia Wu is a scholar, composer, multimedia performer, and audio engineer. Cecilia earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Design and Engineering in 2000. Upon winning the MTV Asian Beat contest, Universal Music Group identified her talent and hired her as a music producer in Hong Kong. She then worked as a professional musician for ten years. In 2010, Cecilia produced her original  album of spiritual electronic music, Clean Your Heart. In 2013, Cecilia obtained her Master’s degree in Music, Science, and Technology at Center of Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, where she focused on computer-assisted composition and audio engineering. Since 2013, she has worked with Dr. Curtis Roads at Media Arts and Technology Program at University of California, Santa Barbara, where she is completing her Ph.D. degree. As an audio engineer, she received a research grant award from Audio Engineering Society. As a musician, she received an award from the California
    State Assembly for being a positive role model in sharing Chinese culture. As a multimedia artist, she received the “Young Alumni Arts Project Grant Award” from Stanford University. As a scholar, she has been awarded a UC Central Campus Diversity Fellowship, a UC Central Campus Humanities Research Fellowship, as well as a National Academy of Sciences Sackler Student Fellowship. She recently has been appointed to a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor at the College of Arts and Media at University of Colorado, Denver.

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