Cowbird
A dance-triggered multimedia performance that relates the story of a parasitic brood by Brad Gallagher
Brad's residency with B2 will culminate with “Cowbird,” a dance-triggered multimedia performance that relates the story of a parasitic brood species of the same name. Female cowbirds lay eggs in another bird's nest, disposing of one of the host bird’s eggs to make room for their own. Gallagher’s performance explores this unique reproductive strategy and evolutionary relationship using motion capture technology to trigger 3D ambisonic sound and the mixing of HD video animations created by a text-to-image artificial intelligence. The audio and visual media is recorded, creating subtly unique standalone experiences.
This work was made possible through the B2 Creative Residency Program. Learn more here.
About the Artist
Brad Gallagher's practice revolves around writing, coding, sound and new media with a focus on how computation intersects these different mediums. He has had a lifelong interest in how simple rules give rise to complex behavior; how order arises from chaos and how systems with many interacting parts exhibit self-organization. As an artist, he draws inspiration from—and directly leverages—these principles to create interactive, dynamic and emergent content. He reflects these practices back into traditional writing, creating a feedback loop of influence amongst the mediums of his work. He graduated with a BFAW from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in May 2019.
