150 Years BASF with Michael Nyman

Media Performance with Michael Nyman

Ars Electronica Solutions developed the media infrastructure to display visuals accompanying a live musical performance that was the world premiere of Michael Nyman’s Symphony No. 8, Water Dances. BASF had commissioned Nyman to compose a work to mark the 150th anniversary of the company’s founding. He then collaborated with Ars Electronica Solutions, Hans Reitz and filmmaker Max Pugh to work out a novel approach to accompanying this piece of music with video material from his extensive archive of images. The outcome was media infrastructure on which 132 different video loops were displayed on each of six projection screens arrayed about the band shell. The arrangement of the controls on pianist Nyman’s keyboard provided him with an intuitive approach to activating the computer-controlled elements.

Project Credits: Stefan Dorn, Pascal Maresch, Patrick Müller, Ali Nikrang, Markus Wipplinger, Claus Zweythurm

Foto Credits: BASF, Pascal Maresch