Erin Gee (born 1983) is a Canadian artist based in Montreal, Quebec. She is known for new media artworks and electroacoustic music composition and her art is inspired by technology and emotions, for example creating music and moving machinery inspired by recordings of heart rate and anxiety.[1][2][3] Her works have been shown and performed internationally. Gee taught Communications as an assistant professor at Concordia University[4] In 2018 she was an invited research associate at the University of Maine, USA in the department of chemical and biomedical engineering at University of Maine.[5] In 2019 she began doctoral studies in music (composition and sound creation) at Université de Montréal under the direction of Dr Nicolas Bernier.

Erin Gee
Born
Erin Marie Gee

1983 (age 40–41)
NationalityCanadian
EducationUniversity of Regina, Concordia University
Known forcomposition, new media art, interactive art
Notable workSwarming Emotional Pianos, Project H.E.A.R.T.
Websitehttps://www.eringee.net/

Career

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Gee's art includes works for performance, interactive installation, multichannel audio, robotics, video, print media, and interactive sculpture.[1]

Swarming Emotional Pianos

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As part of her work, Gee has become a self-taught robotics specialist, measuring "actors’ sweat production, heart rate, blood flow and breathing — all indicators of heightened emotions — to create the data for a computer program that transfers the data into musical notes and triggers a performance from her tubular bell-outfitted robots."[6] This informs her work titled Swarming Emotional Pianos, which includes a video of two actors responding to vocal commands of fear, anger, joy.[6] This work was created in collaboration with Vaughan Macefield, an Australian neurophysiologist and presented on December 13, 2014 as part of the Innovations en Concert series in Montreal, QC.[7] The work titled Orpheux Larynx was created in collaboration with Stelarc as a vocal performance for three choral robots and human soprano singer.

Project H.E.A.R.T. (2017)

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Gee also made a foray into video-game-as-art with Project H.E.A.R.T. ("Holographic Empathy Attack Robots Team"), a collaboration with Alex M. Lee.[8] The game is presented as an installation of a desktop computer with an oculus headset and a biosensor connected to the user's hand would measure changes in their skin conductance and heart rate as they played the video game.[9] The game hedges on challenging the user to use their focus and empathy to motivate in-game soldiers as opposed to the typical kill-to-win dynamic of first-person shooter video games.[10]

to the sooe (2018)

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Gee collaborated with Sofian Audry to create a 3D printed sound object with a human voice murmuring the words of a neural network that's trained by Emily Brontë, a deceased author. The work was further inspired by ASMR and its effects on the body.[11][12][13] The work debuted with hexagram collective from Montreal, at Ars Electronica in 2018.[14]

Education

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Gee graduated from the University of Regina with a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 2006 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009. She graduated from Concordia University in 2014 with a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Exhibitions and performances

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Year Title Gallery / Event Location Notes
2016 Vocales Digitales Hamilton Artists' Inc Hamilton, ON Solo exhibition
2015 Larynx Series Dunlop Art Gallery Regina, SK
2015 What Can a Vocaloid Do? Trinity Square Video Toronto, ON
2015 Flesh of the World Musée d’art Contemporain de Montreal (MACM) Montreal, QC
2014 Swarming Emotional Pianos v1.0 Innovations en Concert at Eastern Bloc Montreal, QC
2014 7 Nights of Unspeakable Truth Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts +15 Calgary, AB
2014 Erin Gee and Kelly Andres Cirque du Soleil Headquarters Montreal, QC
2013 Et si les robots mangaient les pommes Maison des Arts de Laval Laval, QC
2013 Practice Practice Toronto Nuit Blanche Toronto, ON
2013 Seven Nights of Unspeakable Truth Espace[IM]Média Festival Sherbrooke, QC
2012 Interactions Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery Montreal, QC
2012 Digital Interdisciplinations Tin Sheds Gallery Sydney, Australia
2012 Larynx Nuit Blanche, Art Souterrain Montreal, QC
2012 Voice of Echo Gallerywest Toronto, ON
2011 Uncanny Sound TACTIC Cork, Ireland
2011 Orpheux Larynx Powerhouse Museum Sydney, Australia
2011 Live/Afterlives La Centrale Montreal, QC
2011 Gen@Next Art Gallery of Regina Regina, SK
2010 Post-Human//Future Tense Arcade Gallery Columbia College, Chicago
2010 Lucide Neutral Ground Art Gallery Regina, SK
2010 Combine Harbourfront Centre Toronto, ON
2009 uCuE presents Strictement Multivoie: hear and there, then and now Oscar Peterson Concert Hall Montreal, QC
2009 Mind the Gap! Dunlop Art Gallery Regina, SK
2009 SoundLAB VI FILE Electric Language International Festival São Paulo, Brazil
2009 Trivial Pursuits: Mass Distraction Interaccess Toronto, ON

References

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  1. ^ a b Oyler, Lauren (December 16, 2014). "Erin Gee Makes Feminist Robots That Respond to Human Emotion". Vice Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. ^ "Bridging the gap between body and technology". Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. February 23, 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. ^ Ojiaku, Princess (December 14, 2014). "Science with Moxie - Erin Gee blends emotions, science, music, and robotic pianos". Scientific American (archived). Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Faculty". www.concordia.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  5. ^ "Erin Gee". Meta Marathon. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  6. ^ a b "Erin Gee makes biological art with Swarming Emotional Pianos". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  7. ^ Arts, Rocketday. "Innovations en concert :: Erin Gee: Swarming Emotional Pianos". Innovations en concert. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  8. ^ Gee, Erin. "Erin Gee :: Project H.E.A.R.T." Erin Gee :: Electronic Media. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  9. ^ James, Wagner. "Project H.E.A.R.T: A Virtual Reality War Game Where Soldier Morale Is Controlled By The Player's Real Emotions :: New World Notes". New World Notes. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  10. ^ Dooley, Tatum. "VR and The Failure of Self Help Technology". Canadian Art. Canadian Art. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
  11. ^ "Current Members (18-19)". Locus Sonus. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  12. ^ Gee, Erin. "to the sooe". Erin Gee. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Les artistes-chercheurs 2019 Locus Sonus". école supérieure d'art d'aix-en-provence. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Taking Care". hexagram@aecampus. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
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