Electronic Masks

Kalyian was inspired by the blind princess from the island of Samar, a freedom fighter and the founder of Kali, a Philippine martial art. Kalyian is a modern-day personification of the female warrior spirit. It depicts the timeless battle of women, whose inherent warrior qualities are first fought, then realized, and eventually developed into harmony with the total self. It is the same force that gives women of this nature the strength to survive and succeed. Kalyian depicts both a primordial and futuristic sensibility, combining broadcast post-production effects with techniques drawn from Kabuki Theater, dance and Kali.

Experimental short film by Barbara Sykes

A short documentary about the religious celebration of Shiva's birthday at a Nepalese shrine.

“This 60 minute electronic fantasy featuring computer animation can control and change your moods of elation and tranquility. To change or enhance your mood, simply play a musical selection that accompanies your present feeling - its mesmerising! The abstract colorised computer animated visuals are artfully paced with their complimentary sound track. Images explode with colour while sooting with flowing shapes and rhythms, Great for parties or individual contemplation.”

Four abstract figures move and change proportion and distribution onscreen to playful and carnival-like electronic music.

Video Synthesis produced at the Electronic Visualization Event II.

A visual performance using an image processor and digital keyboard at the Electronic Visualization Event II at the University of Illinois.

The work presented on this tape is one excerpt of three pieces in a live performance of dance, audio, and video synthesis. Originally conceived by Barbara Sykes and Michael Sterling in November, 1976, the "Ngoma Dance" was a total interaction work with an electronic environment performed at the University of Illinois, Chicago Circle Campus.

A figure dances and interacts with spiral patterns as electronic music plays. The video fades to focus on a white circle, as shapes, patterns, and figures flicker in and out.

d/stabilize/d is a document of a 3-channel video installation with stereo sound which premiered at ARC Gallery in Chicago in 1987. d/stabilize/d offered the viewer a chaotic environment poised on the verge of balance. Entering the gallery, one was immediately confronted by a nonsensical arrangement of floating doors, doorways and monitors. On the monitors, random fragments of natural phenomena, such as fire and pounding surf, were set in opposition to more domestic scenes of deterioration, centering on a farmhouse in ruins. A further exploration of the space revealed these elements, as subtly engaged in a systemic and coherent exchange between order and disorder, harmony and imbalance.

A thin outline of a slowly moving figure enters the frame, moving forward in a highly exaggerated and expressive manner. Disjointed and atonal electronic music fades in as a heavily distorted repeat of the figure replays.

Demo reel of "Amma, A Documentary of a Living Saint," an intimate portrayal of a woman spiritual leader and internationally acclaimed global social activist by Barbara L. Sykes.