Heart Sutra is an augmented-reality (AR) musical expression of the most widely recited Buddhist texts that explores digital art and heritage, as well as meaningful transformations of historical public spaces through new media art. It leverages video-mapping and network music technologies to augment the physical neoclassical architecture and traditional stained-glass art at Stanford University’s historical monument with data-driven dynamic visual art. This ephemeral AR installation pushes boundaries in music and visual art through computer music and algorithms to revitalize the impact of ancient ritualistic art for the contemporary world. 

Heart Sutra is featured by The Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) 2022 National Conference, International Computer Music Conference (ICMC), Toronto International Women Film Festival, 2022 Earth Day Art Model Festival, and the one-and-only Asian film festival in Colorado – Dragon Boat Film Festival. SIY Gallery in San Francisco invites the artists to recreate an interactive AR installation version of Heart Sutra in April 2022 to explore the play on reality and mirrored doubles.

Integrating East Asian chanting traditions and electroacoustic music and network audio technology, Heart Sutra draws upon the sacred art traditions in chanting, drumming, architecture, ink art, and figurative paintings. Classically trained in these traditions, the artists intentionally transpose these time-tested expressions with algorithm-driven futuristic visual dynamics and technology-packed music techniques. The complex audiovisual spectrums and compositional structure express and explore no-duality in the digital age. Meanwhile, Heart Sutra amplifies the voices of the sacred feminine by empowering the women musicians to chant first at the beginning of the piece, opening up the sonic space. Led by the soprano, the chant from South Korea’s Tongdosa Monasteryc concludes the piece.
   
To realize the piece, the musicians collaborated long-distance through seven remote recording sessions, using state-of-the-art network music technology. The audio transmission latency for multi-channel synchronicity recording from different geographical locations and the unstable internet speed contributing to the pop-and-clips audio imperfections can be perceived through the composition. This unique sonic phenomenon is a trailblazer of the technology-driven collaboration in performance art during the post-COVID Era. 

The real-time processed visuals are designed and developed with audio-driven GPU algorithms, inspired by the complexity of life and our human experiences. The Sacred Futurist portrait of the feminine symbol of love and compassion is inspired by an early 12th-century Bengali painting of Avalokiteśvara and created by a woman Zen Master. 

The result of this multimedia collaboration was precisely video mapped onto physical Western art in mosaic and stained glass at Stanford University’s historical monument, Memorial Church. It was then documented by three high-definition camera recordings for the final edit. To truthfully recreate the sacred soundscape,  we recorded and mixed Memorial Church’s acoustic reverberation into the final piece’s audio post-production. Altogether, this AR piece incorporates layers of cultural complexity and historical symbolism.

Credits

  • Rebecca Nie: Director, Quantum Elders’ Consciousness Vaccine
  • Jiayue Cecilia Wu: Director
  • Jiayue Cecilia Wu: Composer
  • Jiayue Cecilia Wu: Musical Director
  • Scott Miller: Technical Music Director
  • Rebecca Nie: Video & Algorithm Artist, Quantum Elders’ Consciousness Vaccine
  • Rebecca Nie: Producer
  • Cecilia Jiayue Wu: Musician
  • Scott Miller: Musician
  • Jane Rigler: Musician
  • Chris Chafe: Musician
  • Xuanzang Shi: Writer, The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, Thirty Treatises on Yogacara, Great Tang Records on the Western Regions

Specifications

  • Project Title (Original Language): 摩訶波若波儸蜜多心經
  • Project Type: Experimental, Music Video, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres: Art, Spirituality
  • Runtime: 8 minutes 31 seconds
  • Completion Date: October 16, 2021
  • Production Budget: 5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Country of Filming: United States
  • Language: Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese
  • Shooting Format: Digital
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Film Color: Color
  • First-time Filmmaker

Screenings / Awards

  • Stanford Festival of Reflection and Renewal Stanford
    United States
    Closing Feature
  • Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S. Annual Conference Michigan
    United States
    March 30, 2022