Kirk Ford
Hi! My name is Kirk. I am a computer science graduate from University of Saskatchewan, live/installation/audio artist and software/audio engineer. Welcome to my website!
Hi! My name is Kirk. I am a computer science graduate from University of Saskatchewan, live/installation/audio artist and software/audio engineer. Welcome to my website!
My name is Kirk Ford (He/Him/il) and I am a Canadian artist and software developer working out of Saskatoon, SK - Treaty
6 Territory. I received my Bachelors of Science with great distinction in computer science with a minor in creative writing from University of Saskatchewan (November 2023).
I am a Yamaha method trained pianist as well as a professional dancer/choreographer, so it's no secret that I have a
deep love for music and its production. I make music under the Moniker WILFORD.
(Spotify)
/
(Apple Music)
/
(Bandcamp)
and occasionally stream my production on Twitch!
Concerning my artistic endeavours, I am constantly exploring the intersection of technology, music and live art,
and the overlap always keeps me on my toes. Check out my Projects page to see all of my installations that have involved
programming (and what languages I used to create them in) as well as other pure-programming related works of mine!
I am currently learning Typescript, Rust, Go, and Ruby as well as web-dev oriented tools/libraries such as React and MySQL.
The MAGENTA (Desktop Online Gallery)
MAGENTA is a pioneering virtual gallery designed to be accessible and inclusive for all audiences. It offers a unique blend of immersive 3D experiences and a fully accessible web interface, ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, can engage with a diverse range of non-traditional artworks. Through innovative use of Three.js and strict adherence to W3C Accessibility Guidelines, MAGENTA creates a platform where artists and audiences can connect in both virtual and traditional web formats. Our goal is to make art a more inclusive space for everyone to explore, enjoy, and contribute to.
go visit the gallery at by clicking the photos below or by going to themagenta.ca
Coded in React, NodeJS, HTML and hosted with Vercel.
Pixel.Palette - Unraveling Polymath
Unraveling Polymath is a controllable visual kaleidoscope inspired by the captivating patterning of 90s texture CDs, controlled by an ATEMP MC1 midi controller. This work was part of
the Pixel.Palette exhibit, an art show specifically for web art hosted by the Usask UI/UX collective and the 88 gallery. Patrons were invited to twist knobs and fiddle with modulators to see how their actions would cause this digital canvas to react.
Artist Statement:
Unraveling Polymath is a scintillation of consistency. Using the psychedelic and evocative designs of Hiroshi Sasaki’s Texture X and Image Land’s Stone, this work serves to bewilder the viewer with control over kaleidoscope of their design.
As momentary phenomena become frozen through studious and diverse practice, the viewer is left with an appreciation for the complexity found in simple patterns and textures.
Click the first image to play with the work! Although this site was intended for use with a specific midi controller, I have added key functionality for use with a standard keyboard. (press P to see the list of keyboard controls!)
Click the second image to view the promotional material for Pixel.Palette on the 88 Gallery's offical instagram!
Created using Javascript / P5.js, HTML, webMIDI and 1990’s open-source texture packs.
Type Error - Future Collective W/ DJ Olive - PAVEDarts Saskatoon
I created an installation for a week-long collaborative project led by turntablist/artist/improvisor DJ Olive.
Drawing on his extensive experience with multimedia collectives in Brooklyn at the dawn of the 1990s,
DJ Olive spent one week as artist-in-residence at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the spring of 2008.
Revisiting the Future Collective format, DJ Olive spent a week working with a team of local artists to build out the gallery space at PAVED Arts into a sensorial funhouse.
My Project was a composite of a patron-reactive audiovisualizer, a hex/graphically modified copy of tetris for the NES, and a
piano-keyboard that is playing soundfonts directly from a SNES motherboard. The keyboard controls a game of tetris on one monitor
and an audiovisualizer on another.
Click the image to see a video of it in action!
Created using C++, OpenFrameworks, FL Studios, and 6502 assembly.
Nuit Blanche Saskatoon 2023 - Disintegrated Identity
Disintegrated Identity was a live arts installation/collaboration with Saskatoon based artist Stephanie Dirpaul
for Nuit Blanche Saskatoon 2023. The work was an audience-interactive piece wherein patrons experimented with a large canvas
projection via a piano-keyboard that would produce fragments of an image based on MIDI signal inputs that would eventually converge
into beautiful images.
Click the first image and scroll down to see our involvement in the festival! Click the second image to see our project in action!
Created using C++, OpenFrameworks, and FL Studios.
.MidiAngelo
A project for my intermediate software engineering course in which I was the project lead. .MidiAngelo is a web-based pixel art application that transforms a pixel art image created by the
user to a .midi file, which can then be read by music production software to create
“songs”. The user select which instruments to “play” the .midi, which generates a
.wav file of their song.
Click the image to see the GitHub repo!
Coded in Python, Django, and HTML using a Docker Virtual environment.
Coo D'état
A game built in Unity for my Game Design Workshop course. Working in a team of 11 developers, I created/engineered all audio(songs/fx) and
utilized WWise for all audio integration. All programming involving in-game sound was handled by me, as well as
smaller back-end tasks and testing/debugging.
Click the images to see the itch.io page as well as the GitHub repo!
Created using Unity, FL studios, WWise and C#.
Ouroboros
A game created in Unity for my Game Mechanics course. The Game was created by a 5-person team, where
I handled all sound-related implementation as well as all enemy-related creation including AI, variance and classing.
Click the
images to view the game on itch.io as well as the GitHub repo!
Created using Unity, FL studios, and C#.
Deep Neural Recolorization for Use in Creative Domains
DNR is an image/style transfer Deep learning model I created for my Deep Learning
and Applications course based off of a modified U-Net known as PaletteNet and a Photo
Recoloring optimization framework.
Click the image to view my proposal and GitHub repo!
Created using Python, Torch, Jupyter Netbook, HTML, and JS.
This Very Website!
I made this too! Haha! Aside from the site itself, I created a custom HTML/JS 4-track crossfader in order to properly load, loop, and fade songs no matter what browser is being used.
Created using HTML, FL studios, JS, Vercel. Styling-wise I used Nes.css and Aesthetic.css.
Feel free to contact me via email or connect with me through any of my social media.
click any image below to see my respective profile on that platform.
volume 1 volume 2 volume 3 volume 4
This website has curated music and audio (by yours truly). Enable it? (for best experience, do not use iOS!)