For this artist feature we are joined by software developer and live video performer Sarah Groff Hennigh-Palermo to talk about how she got started with feedback loops, finding your own aesthetic style, and a whole lot more. You can also check out her guest tutorial that takes an EXTENSIVE behind the scenes look at her current Eurorack and live coding rig!
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Sarah Groff Hennigh-Palermo, but since that is very long, I usually go by Sarah GHP.
(Early Codie Stills, 2019)
I do live visuals with my bands Codie (me & Kate Sicchio), Cable Knit Sweater (me & David Miller), and Electric Detectives (me, as Hue Archer, & Nancy Drone). Codie is more live code focused, with Kate and I building up a set from scratch with code, whereas Cable Knit Sweater is more modular focused, and David and I share signals across our rigs. Electric Detectives is somewhere in the middle. And then I make more fixed video pieces, from silent sketches to scored collaborations, like Pleco.
I also wrote a zine manifesto about computer-critical computer art with the folks at Nonmachinable that I am very proud of.
I focus a lot on improvisation and bright, gritty textures, and a lo-fi aesthetic. For me, this is a form of aesthetic resistance to the way computers are being deployed in the world. When we look at all the cute, dirty things old computers can do, or when we look at the neat things we can invent with open technology, we start seeing alternatives to all the smooth, coercive technology the world is filling up with.
What tools (hardware, software, other) do you use in your creative / work process?
Cable Knit Sweater in Nevers, France, 2022, unknown photographer
My primary tools are La Habra, a Clojurescript + Electron framework I wrote to live code SVGs; VDMX; and a Eurorack case with the LZX TBC2 and LZX Memory Palace inside, along with other useful modules. I also have a Fairlight CVI, a digital-analog synth from the 1980s, although I do not perform with it because it is gigantic! The Memory Palace is inspired by the CVI and although it is a lot more limited, it is a lot more portable.
Sometimes I also use Signal Culture's applications, especially Framebuffer and Interstream, or write one-off manipulation tools using p5.js.
To transform video signals throughout the system, I use a lot of Blackmagic converter boxes. (I go into these in more detail in my how to.)
A Blackmagic Hyperdeck is useful to record both computer and synthesizer output. Gitlab saves my code, so I can remember where an improvisation ended at least.
An old CCTV camera or two are nice to have on hand for rescanning, which can be either a useful replacement a series of converters or used to capture glitchy footage that a converter will overcorrect. For people interested in video signals, I found them confusing for a long time, so I wrote up my notes, which might be helpful.
In your guest tutorial you describe how all of the various pieces of gear and software you are using all fit together, such as different techniques for video feedback. How do you go about trying out new things to find your own unique visual style and do you have any tips for people just getting started?
Sarah GHP in San Francisco, 2023, photo by Westley Hennigh-Palermo
Hm, that is a very good question. I think I was very lucky in that I had a definite aesthetic in mind when I started. It has changed a bit, but having a direction to aim for was helpful. I knew I loved two-dimensional polygons, a pop approach to color and pattern. That is partially nature — I just think about aesthetics a lot — and partially nurture — I grew up in Southern California, which is a land blessed by color and kitsch and fun, and then spent years in every modern art museum I could. So the Disneyland meets Lygia Pape vibe already was deeply embedded into my imagination.
Then in terms of further exploration, I would say I have a pretty constant push and pull between deliberation and happy accident. When I first started doing live code shows, every time I would encounter something I liked out in the world, in a museum or an ad or at a show, I would try to think about what a similar thing in La Habra would be like. Since I was trying to practice every day at that point, I could usually try it out pretty quickly and see what I liked. But then deliberation ended — I did not think about trying to capture it all — and I am sure I forgot like 50% of what I found out, but that is fine with me. If it is important, I will find it again.
Discovering feedback as a tool also worked in a similar accident–deliberate–accident structure. I had applied for a residency at Alfred University with a former member of Codie and then she couldn't go, so I went alone and spent the entire time working on video stuff. (Accident.) They had a Fairlight CVI and when I was running through a bunch of modes, I happened to hit one of the feedback presets when running a video of my work that had a background which just happened to match the chroma-keying, and the footage was amazing. (Accident.) But I couldn't replicate it the next day, because I did not understand it. So I went through all the modes (with the help of my husband Wes, who often serves as a studio assistant) and captured what I could to take it apart and try to understand it at home. This has taken years, and the purchase of a Fairlight, and I would say I understand a lot more. (Deliberation.) Then I do another round of improvisations and explorations where I might start with a question or intention, but inevitably get sidetracked or make a mistake, and then open up a whole new vein. (Back to the accidents.)
(La Habra + Interstream, 2022)
And then VDMX was the same. I started using it to route Syphon signals, tried out some effects for fun and had some quick wins, and was baffled by others. So I took some footage from an improvisation and systematically applied every effect in VDMX to it. Not only did I write down notes here, but I recategorized all the effects in my notebook by how they affected the kind of footage I make.
So have a goal, have a bunch of happy accidents, and then try to understand things so you can recreate the accidents. You will have more accidents and grow your list of things to understand.
For me, too, understanding actually means two things. It means understanding technically what is happening but also understanding where the outcome lives, aesthetically or art historically. For instance, I find it useful to be able to think about gritty visual dislocation and feedback in terms of, say, 90s design and Raygun magazine. This gives you pointers as to where to look for more inspiration and can help direct collaboration. The typography in my zine with Nonmachinable comes directly from this.
So, I guess my advice is:
Look for your starting point. What do you actually like? What do you like that isn't what everyone else likes? Being a bit of a hater (in your head!) is also a good way to find a starting point. Don't be mean, but it is useful to know what you do not want to do, especially if you aren't sure what you want to do.
Go out and fuck up a lot.
Find a balance between exploration and deliberation. Don't try to save everything because you will drive yourself mad.
Focus on understanding and avenues will open up around that.
Tips / suggestions for people looking to find live code shows / getting more into that community?
Codie as astronauts in Limerick, 2020, photo by Antonio Roberts
If you are in New York City or nearby, then I can recommend Livecode.NYC wholeheartedly. It is a friendly community, which puts on a ton of shows, often at Wonderville, in Bushwick.
Otherwise, TOPLAP has an event calendar, a list of nodes, and a Mastodon instance. Once you start getting to know folks from one scene, it is pretty to meet those from others.
Tell us about your latest round of touring in Europe and the US, and anything coming up next that you'd like to hype!
Sarah in Berlin, 2023, photo by Westley Hennigh-Palermo
Ha, well I am not sure I would call anything a tour. I am always trying to balance wanting to play more and having a day job and other hobbies, like swimming and improving my German.
I got my start in the US live code scene, being around for the early days of LivecodeNYC, so when I was back in the States in December I played with the SF A/V Club and then did a chill evening with my New York friends. Every city's live code scene is different and something I really treasure about New York is that there are still corners where the experimental DIY vibe can flourish.
And speaking of good vibes, in May, I did a talk, anti-AI meme workshop and Cable Knit Sweater performance at Art Meets Radical Openness, a biennial conference run by Servus.at in Linz, and then played with Codie at Blaues Rauchen in Essen. Both were impeccable.
Coming up, I will teaching a workshop at NØ SCHOOL NEVERS, a summer school in Nevers, France, and then Cable Knit Sweater will play again at the festival on the last weekend, July 12 to 14.
After that, not much planned for performances, but in the future, I really would like to do some durational — 6- or 8-hour — gallery performances, where the piece can evolve slowly, so anyone in Europe reading this who is interested, should talk to me.
Looking to find more from Sarah GHP? Check out her website, follow hi codie on Instagram, and watch the guest tutorial showing off her live video rig!