December 2, 2009 at 2:48 am · Filed under Artworks, Events, Thoughts
I just had a skype conversation with Robin Gareus from Citu CiTu research center (Création Interactive Transdisciplinaire Universitaire) Universités Paris 1 and Paris 8. We worked on uploading some of my videos and connecting a live video feed to TAC and were successful at all attempts! This program is wonderful so far. Easy to connect with and easy to upload video for live mixing. Working with technology in my work often makes it incredibly difficult to put quick performances together or painlessly try things out. I think that this tool will be a wonderful rehearsal model to say the least. In addition I am hoping that I can use this tool to demonstrate my process to colleagues in a quick way. Anywhere that I have my computer and internet I will be able to set up a completely interactive performance system. Furthermore, I am energized and excited for the show I have coming up on December 11. I can’t wait to connect with TAC and see what happens.
May 5, 2009 at 11:18 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Although perhaps against blogging etiquette, I will re-post portions of my conversation on -empyre- to my blog this month. I hope that this entices some of you to join as the discussion is already proving to be incredibly interesting. Here are some thoughts of mine on digital mishap and physical stillness. See my last post for a link to sign-up to join in the discusion.
Hello all,
Ricardo, I am incredibly interested in the ideal of an “aesthetics of
failure” and agree that this pertains specifically to Lepecki’s
situation of dance and politics. I am hesitant, though, to associate
stillness as failure for the same reasons that Stamatia is resistant
to associate technical cut with mishap. If we associate stillness with
failure we equate stillness with a body that does not move. If I stand
still my body is still moving, both on the inside and on the outside.
Micro-movements become more apparent as my body awareness begins to
increase. I was in an Alexander technique workshop this past weekend
and we were discussing this very concept. So, I feel that in the way
dance often employs stillness the still does not result in the
non-moving. What is particularly interesting here is that I have
become more aware of this fact through my work with sensors. I have to
calibrate the sensors and their thresholds in order to act
appropriately with my movements because they perceive my
micro-movements much more accurately or specifically than my audience
would. The slightest twitch of a finger and subsequent shift of
tendons and veins in my wrist could send a sensor like an
accelerometer located on top of those tendons and veins into a great
deal of reception. Lepecki discusses the “betrayal of the bind between
dance and movement” as one that dance watchers including critics
perceive. Perhaps we can use a sensor to illustrate the moving affect
in stillness. I think, though, that this also disrupts the political
intention behind adding perceived body stillness to the dance
performance. It is here that we can locate your failure of politics
and an aesthetics of failure. By employing technologies in
choreography I think that we truly can move between failures of
politics as affect and clean techno gestures as effect within an
“aesthetics of failure.” I agree with Stamatia entirely that the
technical cut is an affect, but am still interested in how we work
with engineers who could consider our affect a purely technical
mishap. The clean techno gesture is effective, but in its gaps the
artist finds her affect. The artist can also find affect in
intentional cut, though, that I would associate with a cinematic cut.
I often program a cut into my technology to initiate an affective
presence. In this sense the affect does not rest on mishap at all and
we again move between affect and effect, gap and seamlessness,
movement and stillness. I am very interested in the in between here.
As we move we supposed move through or between points of perceived
stillness. When I dance with sensors and projections I am moving in
the in-between sensor, computer, projection and audience. In Dance
Forms we move between the different grids and boxes that Stamatia
brings up. The in-between provides affect for both physical and
digital affect. A perceived gap in technology, or a perceived
stillness in the body when it isn’t really still after all.
I am curious where this in-between fits theoretically, especially in
terms of D&G’s ideas of the machinic and body without organs.
Ashley
April 19, 2009 at 9:32 am · Filed under Artworks
I post photographs and videos of my work to my dance-tech.net site. As school winds down and summer begins I will be working much more on my own work. Watch the blog for updates on artistic progress and my dance-tech site for detailed accounts of my technological explorations and discoveries. I am currently refining the sensor technologies that I configured for my piece and am developing the choreography for my next show, which will be in Oakland, CA this August. Watch a video clip of my November 2008 performance at dance-tech!
March 15, 2009 at 2:59 pm · Filed under Events
I’ve been looking at William Kentridge’s work a lot lately and had the opportunity to see an exhibit of his work at SFMoma yesterday. I was blown away by how intricately he treads the line between over stimulation and a delicate and subtle emotionality. His multi-media oeuvre also tends to include a great deal of choreography. Although the exhibition blurb coined Kentridge as someone who looks at painting, drawing, film etc, they didn’t notice the implicit gesture toward choreography that accompanies his work. I found both historical reference and robotic work. This is aside from the plethora of projections that are necessary to convey Kentridge’s message about South African politics and more.
Hopefully more on this to come as I will see him speak this afternoon and tomorrow!
March 9, 2009 at 3:24 am · Filed under Events, Link
I just found the “dtwmain” posts on YouTube. Thank goodness for Dance Theater Workshop and their embrace of the Internet as a positive force in the contemporary dance community. Check out their amazing archive of performance and conversation…
…some of my personal favorites:
MAP ME by Charlotte Vanden Eynde & Kurt Vandendriessche at Dance Theater Workshop. Fall 2007.
Stephen Greco in conversation with Trajal Harrell prior to Quartet for the End of Time at Dance Theater Workshop. Fall 2008.
Photographs courtesy of Daniel Bruggemeyer