[ISEA2017] Tutorial: Martín Vélez — Embracing adversity: biofeedback devices for audio-visual therapeutic stimulation

Tutorial Statement

When life puts you in difficulty you can either run away from it, or embrace that obstacle and figure out how to take advantage by developing a creative method to benefit from it. Being born with a heart condition, I have always been exposed to biofeedback devices and it always intrigued me the sound and visuals that were created through these devices using my body as source for their input.

  • Martín Vélez As part of my academic research, I started to incorporate my own physical condition into the creative process of art making. In that process I discovered techniques that allow us to control our vital signs, particularly meditation. Meditation is the practice of self-awareness and has effects in how we engage with our daily situations. Its practice can help people build strongest connections with their mind and body which can be used to create generative sound and visuals that is fed back into the person creating a feedback loop. This is particularly helpful for people with physical disabilities because they can use their vital signs to generate and control audio-visual content. This tutorial will teach attendees the technique of meditation, while wearing biofeedback devices to control an interactive audio-visual piece.