Video, Film and Performance
Janet Biggs is a research based, interdisciplinary artist known for her immersive work in video, film and performance. Biggs’ work focuses on individuals in extreme landscapes or situations, navigating the territory between art, science and technology. I have been fortunate to have worked with Janet Biggs on a range of film and performance projects since 2018, with roles ranging from AI developer to music composer and anywhere between.
Entanglements, 2022 by artist Janet Biggs, mathematician Agnieszka Miedlar, and physicist Daniel Tapia Takaki, with music composed by Richard Savery. Six-channel high-definition video installation with sound and interactive whiteboards. Running time: three endless loops, 05:08 each, total running time 15:24. This work was commissioned and supported by the Integrated Arts Research Initiative (IARI) at the Spencer Museum of Art in collaboration with the Arts at CERN.
AI Anne is an ongoing performance series that combines human and technological improvisation, vocalization, movement, and storytelling, amplifying personal stories and advocating for diverse inclusion, including adaptive and neural diverse perspectives, in building and expanding new and existing technologies.
A.I. Anne was developed with Janet Biggs as a way to advocate for inclusion in the development of AI technologies - to advocate for all the missing voices, including the neurodiverse.
Language is loaded and biased. A.I. Anne is a storyteller, but only communicates through vocalizations and emotion. The entity was developed with prosody, the rhythms used in poetry. A.I. Anne can detect emotion and respond with emotion in real time.
More details are available at https://www.janetbiggsperformance.com/
Live performance for The United Nations’ International Day of Care and Support, 2023
Video at https://www.jbiggs.com/voices-of-inclusion
Operating within NYC’s shelter-in-place guidelines, only one person – the performer – is present. Equipped with multiple microphones and cameras (mixed remotely), the space itself becomes a generative agent for the performer.
“Augmentation and Amplification,” was presented as a live-streamed project performed during the global pandemic, on July 30th, 2020. T
https://www.jbiggs.com/augmentation-and-amplification
How the Light Gets In is a multi-media performance by artist Janet Biggs, presented by Hyphen Hub at Theater at New Museum on July 18, 2019.
The piece was constructed in 4 movements.
It opened with a duet between Mary Ester Carter and A I Anne. Mary is a singer songwriter, dancer and actor. A I Anne is an artificial intelligence entity trained on improvisations from jazz to world music. Anne actively listened to Mary and generates new ideas based on what she hears.
The second movement was a composition by Jason Barnes, titled Entity. Jason was wearing a prosthesis with 2 drum sticks attached. One stick is controlled by Jason and the other stick has artificial intelligence that allows it to hear what Jason is play and improvise off him.
Violinists Earl Maneein and Mylez Gittens as well as singer Mary Ester Carter improvised off of Jason’s composition.
The next movement paired Jason Barnes with runner Brian Reynolds, who ran on prosthetic running blades. Brain and Jason became a percussive background as Mary tried to teach A I Anne language.
In this segment, A I Anne’s voice controled Jason’s 3rd drum stick.
Mathematics and music are handled by similar regions in our brains; and it is no serendipity that Janet Biggs’ music plays an overwhelming role in awakening our subjectivity and bridging the gap between man and man-made machines, between creativity and control, strength and frailty, between our infinitesimal position in the universe and yet the heroic paths individuals may take.
This work featured Jason Barnes drumming arm.
The first collaboration with Janet, with Shimon the robot as the film composer. Tech details avilable here
Shown as part of Like Walking on Mars, Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos, Tenerife, Canary Islands.