Music in the Machine - Tristan Perich

"My art and my music are about simple forms and complex systems—the intersection of randomness, order and composition. I am inspired by the aesthetics of math and physics."

—Tristan Perich

Tristan Perich keeps himself very busy as an artist, inventor, composer and performer. He began formally composing at age 10 and currently is an active performer of his own compositions. Perich’s 1-Bit music combines his musical compositions with primitive, hand-programmed electronics that investigate the foundations of digital sound. He has integrated 1-bit elements into his compositions for solo instruments, small ensemble and orchestra. Perich’s machine drawings — pen on paper or wall drawings executed by a custom-built machine — use randomness and order as raw materials within a composition. Perich studied music, math and computer science at Columbia University and InteractiveTelecommunications at Tisch School for the Arts.

Visitors to the Science & Art exhibit will see the creation Perich calls 1-Bit music—eleven 1-bit compositions delivered to the listener via on/off switch, micro-chip, battery, earphone jack and volume control all squeezed into a plastic CD case. Labels describe the function of each component while other graphics — including photos and quotes — explore the artistic vision and process behind the work.

Physics, math and computer science form the basis of Tristan Perich’s exploration of electronic sound. According to Perich, mathematician Kurt Gödel had a big influence on his interest in the fundamentals of math and science. At a time when theorists thought that mathematics had the power to formalize and prove any true statement, Gödel revolutionarily showed that any formal theory will always be limited — that there will always be true statements that are outside the reach of logic. Since computers by definition also embody formal systems, this inspires how he works with them. Perich grew up surrounded by art and music — his mother and grandmother each ran art galleries, and his father has been using machines to create art since the ’70s. He learned the piano in elementary school and, began composing from the beginning.

Listen to some of his music at www.tristanperich.com!

See our Science and Art pics on Flickr!