ESSA!
ESSA! was a groundbreaking live performance that merged the traditional power of Japanese taiko drumming with state-of-the-art digital media. While taiko has roots in ancient battlefield communication and community festivals, it has evolved over the last half-century into a sophisticated stage art. This specific production featured Naruwan Taiko, a San Diego-based ensemble founded by Diana Wu in 2008. True to its name—a Taiwanese Ami word meaning "welcome, for we are all in the same family"—the group focuses on inclusivity and cross-cultural community building, providing a space where individuals of all backgrounds and musical experience levels can explore the physical and mental benefits of the art form.
The performance served as a technical showcase for the Qualcomm Institute at Calit2, UCSD, utilizing 4K resolution visualizations—a medium then emerging as the new digital cinema standard. Co-produced by Todd Margolis and Tracy Cornish through the IDEAS initiative, the project leveraged Margolis's research into extreme-scale media and enabling technologies. By presenting imagery at four times the resolution of standard HD, the team aimed to push the boundaries of how high-fidelity creative content could be integrated into live, energetic performances.
Each musical piece was paired with a distinct, real-time 4K visualization designed to reveal the invisible forces behind the drumming. These visuals were driven by a variety of data sources, including motion capture, EEG brain wave data, and computer graphics that responded dynamically to the physical impact of the performers striking the drums. By visualizing the physiological and neurological functions of the artists in real time, Margolis and Cornish provided the audience with a novel, high-resolution experience that translated the internal energy of the body and brain into a stunning visual spectacle.
About Todd
My work functions as a sensory intervention, utilizing the tools of rigorous research to materialize complex data as a felt experience. They explore the mediated experience of human intuition with algorithmic logic, turning abstract information into immersive physical or visual form.
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