UVM 2011
Description

A two-day conference focused on developing an understanding of the practice of visual music, its definition, related creative and perceptual considerations, current trends, technological innovation, and possible future directions.

The event will take place on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th of August 2011 and will include paper sessions, roundtable discussions, and creative works presentations.

Background
The term “visual music” is a loose term that describes a wide array of creative approaches to working with sound and image. It may refer to “visualized music” in which the visual aspect follows the sound’s amplitude, spectrum, pitch, or rhythm, often in the form of light shows or computer animation, while 
in other instances it may refer to “image sonification” in which the audio is drawn from the image in some fashion. Sometimes visual music describes a non-hierarchical correlation between sound and image, in which both are generated from the same algorithmic process, while in other instances, they are layered without hierarchy or correlation altogether. Both sound and image may be presented live, fixed, or as part of an interactive multimedia installation.

Focus
While the colloquium is open to all proposals relevant to this field, it will focus on research that addresses visual music’s multiple definitions, questions around visual music aesthetics and meaning, hierarchy and correlation of sound and image in this context, and the audience’s perception thereof. Artists are also be invited to propose visual music performances and installations.

Format
This one-day colloquium will consist of invited keynote speech, several paper sessions selected from submissions by a committee, and one roundtable discussion. Visual music works will be presented throughout the day and in two shows – one live and one for fixed media.

Goals
The goals of this event are (1) to create an opportunity for artists and scholars involved with visual music to share and discuss artistic, aesthetic, perceptual, technological, educational, and sociocultural themes relevant to this field and (2) to welcome interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and cross-fertilization among creators, researchers, and educators involved in visual music and related fields, including electroacoustics, animation, computation arts, media arts, music, film, and more.