Live Stage: GLOW (nyc)

Chunky Move: Glow :: February 7-9, 2008; 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm :: February 10, 2 pm and 3:30 pm :: The Kitchen, 512 West 19th Street, NYC :: Co-Presented with The Joyce Theater.

Glow is an illuminating choreographic essay by Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek and interactive software creator Frieder Weiss. Beneath the glow of a sophisticated video tracking system, a lone organic being mutates in and out of human form into unfamiliar, sensual and grotesque creature states.

Utilising the latest in interactive video technologies a digital landscape is generated in real time in response to the dancer's movement. The body's gestures are extended by and in turn manipulate the video world that surrounds it, rendering no two performances exactly the same.

In Glow, light and moving graphics are not pre-rendered video playback but rather images constantly generated by various algorithms responding to movement. In most conventional works employing projection lighting, the dancer's position and timing have to be completely fixed to the space and timeline of the video playback. Their role is reduced to the difficult chore of making every performance an exact facsimile of the original. In Glow, the machine sees the performer and responds to their actions, unlocking them from a relationship of restriction and tedium.

contradiction projections/body

Hey,

I just wrote a lot of things about the contraction in combining the medium 'body' and the medium 'projection'. I deleted it (because it was to confusing) and decided to just ask this difficult question: Why combining projections with bodies and what will happen when you do that in a club? (Not that I want to give doubts about the project, I just think that this is a very interesting debate and will give practical guides to Lotta, Ambra and Filip and hopefully to all of ous.)

PS: Maybe some of the labels with this message could be a base to build answers on this question.

thoughts about collaboration

I just wanna say that my idea proposal is not fixed at all (comment to Ambras thoughts below). The reason I wrote the first thing in a rather clear way is that I had an interesting further discussion with Boris about collaboration. To me the very first thing , that we should propose our own projects (not first developed in groups) was a bit weired in relation to my previous thoughts about collaboration (I was very much thinking democracy and still am). Boris made me see a different aspect (and this is again me interpreting what we spoke about, it's not quoting Boris) that it's good to propose your own project idea, not always for the idea itself, but as guidance to each others, let's call it artistic values...

This conversation in mind, made me brainstorm further on what we had talked about animation and projection, but with the goal to shape a project from what was already there on Saturday. My wish is not to fulfill that exact piece of text, but my wish is to expand ideas into a theme that can be input for further experimenting and further ideas. What that theme is, is for me very important to discuss at this blog since brainstorming on idea concepts also fits very well in written form and can help us a lot to go further with the more practical experiments we are up to soon.

Since it's open... I have changed a lot already by trying the idea of placing it in a club (below) and this might give you a real hint of that it wasn't ready before... and not now either;-)

Hope I made somewhat sense... Lotta

Morf gogo dancing and VJ:ing

Hey!

...with a slight alteration I think the thing I wrote before (projections on bodies) would be very interesting and well functioning as an ongoing act in a club... (thanx Bram).

Picture the (maybe) 2 performers instead off the ground (still on two sides of a room) above club audience and think that what happens is a morf of gogo dancing and VJ:ing that plays with the old roles of both medias. I think the human transformation idea is really cool to explore in that kind of environment. Also I think strong images built up in a more vj like dramaturgy (I don't know much but...) would really add something to the whole concept.

See You!

olga's proposal

Hi all,

I hope last day was inspiring day.
I Would love to see some pictures on the Blog, as I had to miss all the goodness.

Since time is running fast, and submission for the money is allready so soon, I am wondering what's the status quo?

I would love to do this modular networking project, which I have been discussing with Jean Paul and Boris, on saterday.
The idea is to create a modulair system of multiple computers connected, generating different algorhythms/renders of the same input.
As we discussed; 'Ein gesamtskunstwerk', in the social sense of the word.

The idea is to explore a system that could analyse a certain input. ( i.e. motion-tracking, sound-analyses, hearbeats, etc etc).
Then the real core-idea is to get to know MAX/MSP, and learn how to generate CG images from this input to create a unique (and hopefully artistic ) output. So, everyone that joins this plan, would then create a different output from the same input- source.

As a result, it could be interesting to map these various output next to eachother, or ON top of each other, etc...
(and offourse during this process a lot of other related ideas might grow.)
What I like about this idea as well, is that it could be joined by just 2 people, but also 12 or 122.
(in that sense it 's a modular and networked system).

For me personally I like the idea to explore and learn more about realtime rendering and 3D in MAX MSP.
Also I like the fact that anyone, who is interested can particpate, and still create a unique artwork from a global concept.

Personally , it would make sense for me, to spend this money wisely, and invest in this software.
Since this Masterclass-project is about exploring in general, I like the idea of creating something that could allways be expanded and developed after the Masterclass too.

Hopefully someone here likes this idea.
What about you Jean-Paul ?...and Mattia?? ...Anyone??

So, I could be in Brussels for a little meeting on 27th or 26th of january to discuss this.
I dont know how we will have to apply? Do we get info on how to do apply?
Is everyone doing that individually?
I missed this info maybe on sunday?

Thanks,
hope to hear from you.

+
hope to see you all at PLAZA+ in Eindhoven, this weekend!

Best,
Olga