DeMatinis, Paul

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DeMatinis, Paul

DeMatinis, Paul , American composer; b. Cleve-land, Oct. 6, 1948. He was educated at Antioch (Ohio) Coll. (B.A., 1971) and Mills Coll. in Oakland, Calif., where he studied with Robert Ashley (M.F.A., 1973) and subsequently taught composition and computer art (1973–78). He also taught at Wesleyan Univ. (1979–81) and San Francisco State Univ. (1987–89), and was a sound designer for Atari video games (1982–84). As a performer, he has appeared solo and in collaboration with such artists as Ashley and David Tudor. He is best known for his performance WORKS, computer/sound installations, and interactive electronic inventions. His computer audio-graphics systems have been installed at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and at the Wadsworth Athenaeum; he has also created permanent audio installations at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and at the Boston Children’s Museum. Much of his later work, such as Kokole (1985) and I Want You (1986), involves computer-processed speech. Among his instal lations are Pygmy Gamelan (Paris, N.Y., Los Angeles, 1976–80), Music Room/Faultless Jamming (San Francisco, Boston, 1982), and Laser Disk (Eindhoven, Netherlands, 1989).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire