Autour de la complexité dans les arts / Around Complexity in the Arts

Ircam, Salle I. Stravinsky
1, place I. Stravinsky 75004 Paris
(Entrée libre dans la mesure des places disponibles.)

[Les présentations seront en anglais]

Programme et résumés (PDF)

• 9h45 - 9h55 Moreno Andreatta & Carlos Agon: Introduction to the 8th season of the MaMuX Seminar
• 9h55 - 10h00 Frank Madlener: Welcome
• 10h00 - 11h00 John Casti & Jean-Pierre Boon: Artistic Forms and Complexity (présentations: 1/2 2/2)
• 11h15 - 12h00 Athanase Papadopoulos: Complexity in geometry and in music (*)

• 12h15 - 13h00 Geoffroy Drouin: Complexity and emergence in music

Artistic Forms and Complexity

This lecture explores the question, "Is 'good' art complex?" The talk proceeds by first explaining the Chaitin-Kolmogorov theory of algorithmic complexity, and then defining a subjective measure of complexity and "goodness" for some pieces of abstract art. Comparisons and connections between these notions are then explored by empirical investigation to conclude that in general what people perceive as "good" tends to be more complex than that which they see as less good.

Complexity in geometry and in music

I will speak about complexity in geometry and in geometric theory of groups: construction with rule and caliper, tilings, etc. This notion of complexity, which is much simpler than Kolmogorov’s one, goes back to Kepler. I will confront these theories with some old and recent constructions in music theory.

(*) Voir l'article : "Degrés de complexité en géométrie et en musique. Réflexions à partir de l'harmonie du monde de Kepler" , L'Ouvert, n° 114, mars 2007, p. 47-68 (en pdf)

Complexity and emergence in music

Our talk will focus on the evaluation of the concept of emergence in music. After introducing the epistemological content of this concept as related to the notion of complexity, we will restrict it to the musical reality in order to evaluate its specificity. This will enable us to distinguish between a perception based emergence in which the listener actualizes the phenomena and a notion of emergence which realizes in the compositional (writing) process, independently from the listening strategies. Thanks to the different contradictions which are rooted in the notion of emergence, we can suggest that emergence is a central concept in the compositional process. It expresses a singular moment of the writing process and represents a new modality in the traditional relation between perception and composition.

Colloque international MUSIQUE ET COMPLEXITE. Autour d'Edgar MORIN et de Jean-Claude RISSET
9-11 décembre 2008, Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne et CDMC.
Sous la responsabilité de Nicolas Darbon.