Luke Dubios
If I had to choose, I might have to pick R Luke Dubois as the most fascinating guest we have had in Composer’s Forum. Everyone has been great, but to watch the mind of R Luke Dubois in action is a spectacular site. Seeing him demonstrate and speak on algorithms, various studies, and visual data was so inspiring. Especially because of the level of integrity he seeks to maintain while collecting this data and presenting it to the masses. A great point that he made is that by being present as professor, he is able to impact his engineering students to use their level of intelligence for good (vs dangerous or damaging motives). Seeing him process information and approach problems as questions and calmly take measures to find ways to answer them without stress and frustration was awesome. I found myself trying to do the math and calculate how he fit all of these different ventures into his 40 years of life; from his DMA in composition from Columbia, to being a professor, to having a child, to all of the data pieces he has created. He spoke on his data piece from 21 different dating sites as 4 different demographics and downloaded 19 million profiles and determined the most common word in each location. It was very cool.
In observing Luke’s pieces, such as “Hindsight is 20/20” which was commissioned by the 2008 DNC where he analyzed every State of the Union speech made by every U.S. president and collected the 66 of their most-used words and then presented those words in an eye-exam chart with the most frequently used at the top and descending in size and number, I found myself asking the same question; How long did this take him? He is obviously a beyond-brilliant man, but when he told us about his parents getting him a computer at age 9, which made a lot of sense in explaining the amount of work he has been able to produce. He also told us he got practice writing algorithms at a young age and made an interesting comparison that as composers we use algorithms to manipulate emotional outcomes (with the listener) as well. It was cool to find out that he was commissioned to bring some of these projects to life. I can’t imagine funding all of those efforts personally. It’s hard enough to do that with making your own album. When I got the chance top speak with him after, I asked him about time management and he mentioned that he actually struggles with it as well.
I was especially captivated during this presentation because it of motivated me to push through with al that I am taking on right now; new album, grad school, performances, travel, living in NYC etc. It is also comforting to hear someone speak on using their brain and talent to protect people and uphold justice. I’m very grateful for the opportunity too have him as a presenter.
Luke has probably been my favorite guest so far! Not only was his work very inspiring, but also the way he presented it and talked us through his process. I found that his personality resonated with his work in an interesting way.
ReplyDeleteIt's relieving to hear that he struggles with time management as well - that's something I definitely need to work on.
I agree that R. Luke Dubois had quite the engaging talk, one that I will remember for a long time. What's interesting to me is how he went down the path of music, all the way to getting his DMA in composition, though he intended on being involved with engineering. It takes a lot more time and effort to study in one field then practice in another, but I think it's worth the trouble because as a result a person can end up to be well-rounded with a unique perspective, which are two qualities that are highly sought after. I appreciate that Dubois tries to reinforce the latter through his Creative Coding class, where engineering students go beyond the computer and partake in unexpected activities such as composing music and sewing. It makes me wonder what I can do as a composer and musician to "think out of the box" as well. Off the top of my head, it would be worth looking into creating interesting visuals such as Florent Ghys' music videos, or Dubois' visual data. Or it might mean looking into another practice/hobby altogether.
ReplyDeleteThis was particularly interesting for me (and it seems like for most students), perhaps because I started as a math/stats major before switches to music studies during my undergrad. The data he collects and integrates into his music seems to be combining sciences/math, collected data points, and music to a degree that is different than normal. As always, or at least this semester, the guest speaker was very good at showing us his creative process, giving us a glimpse into his ideas and how they come to fruition, but also his struggles and the reality of creating something so complicated.
ReplyDeleteI thought he was fascinating as well, and was impressed with the mathematical and analytical ideas he came up with.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you mentioned! He was such an incredibly fascinating and exciting artist/speaker. His lecture felt like a tornado of knowledge and ideas in the best possible way. I loved his presentation style - honest, real and energetic. I loved the moral compass he seems to value in his work and what he chooses to work on, and i loved hearing about the work itself.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of a database is not new, but all the topics and content luke built to his project is so amazing and inspired. His project such as the most popular words in the different area really reflects the local society and culture which is a reflection of social trends and politics. His engineering technology is also amazing, I really like the maps he showed us at the end of the class, it looks very fresh and attractive.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with pretty much everything that has been said. His synthesis of pre-existing data, mediums, ideas, etc into something that I have never seen before was truly moving, funny, humbling, saddening (depending on the piece). While much of his presentation wasn't really musically related, I did not seem to mind just because of how dynamic, passionate, brilliant, and engaging he was. Definitely opened up my mind beyond how I normally perceive things.
ReplyDeleteI'm so fascinated by the art he makes in the name of social justice. It's remarkable! I find it clever, and suitable for the topics he has, and all that without stepping on toes of minorities, only stepping on the toes of those who deserve to have their toes stepped on.
ReplyDeleteComposing using mathematical algorithms is always fascinating to me. I was very impressed with how Dubois was able to keep the music from sounding prescribed, calculated and mathematic. Instead, it sounded quite unique and had even more stark meaning in relation to what it was commissioned for.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me most about his presentation was not the music. in fact i find it difficult to remember anything about his music. What i loved was his ability to approach social commentary in incredibly sharp, and to the point presentations. The gun, the word analysis, the graphs, all of it was eye opening, and impossible to misunderstand. I would love to hear more from him in the future, to see how his projects in development now are received.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he was a very interesting guest, being both significantly smarter than I, and yet very relatable. It really made me reflect on how connect music and math is, and yet how disparate they can be.
ReplyDelete