' FREE ? are We? ' : A real time projection and interaction performance

FREE ?? are WE ??

The Poster I designed for the event

The performance/installation talks about the notion of the illusion of freedom. The idea that no one ever has the ultimate freedom and that there are always forces keeping everyone under control of some sort.

 VIDEO: 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6HIKgc4rkM

ABOUT THE INSTALLATION AND THE VISUALS 

An Installation created (using the kinect and processing) on the concept of the illusion of personal freedom. We are bound by some form of restriction always be it family, society, gender, body etc. still most feel that they have the personal freedom to choose whatever they want to do with their life, live in the illusion that they themselves control their own life. The Concept of freedom itself is an illusion; the installation is a playful attempt to stir the question in the minds of the audience.

The Installation works by the audience interacting/moving in front of the Kinect and in return observing the real time changes in the projection according to his/her movements and the keys pressed.

There are three effects/visuals created, all projecting the concept of illusion and what forces “confine” our freedom.

Ideal distance for interaction with the device: 6ft

EFFECT 1-

PRESSING ‘SHIFT’ KEY: “FIND YOU FREEDOM”

The closer one moves to the kinect the body disintegrates and its easier to “find” ones freedom (literally), where as the farther one moves the freedom is lost and a condensed image is seen.

EFFECT 2-

PRESSING ‘CNTRL’ KEY: “ ITS ALL AROUND YOU”

Moving ones hands (palm facing the kinect) generates text movement. The text contains all the forces that are responsible in limiting ones “freedom”, and the projection shows the person surrounded and between these forces, the more one moves the hands, the text keeps generating.

 EFFECT 3-

PRESSING ‘ALT’ KEY: “BEHIND ‘sound generating’ BARS”

The image projected is of the viewer behind bars and as you touch the bar a sound is created and the ‘meaning’ of the bar is shown as text. The image shows the caging of personal freedom and the bars represent the forces that make the caging possible.

CREDITS for creating the codes :

• ·       Processing library examples – OPEN NI
• ·       Daniel Shiffman examples and vimeo channel ( Particle System Class)
• ·       ‘Making Things See’ by Greg Borenstein
• ·       ‘Learning processing’ by Daniel shiffman

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE:

 
The visuals are divided into two, one projected using the machine and coding and the other performed. The projected visuals are part of the interactive display, where the viewer again gets transformed to a performer using the mode of interaction by pressing keys from the keyboard and in return viewing certain visuals with them making the changes to the visuals. There are three keys and three effects for interaction. First, where the audience can see a negative image projected of themselves and by waving or moving their hand, they can start the movement of text all around them. The text that falls/moves are the stereotypical notions that confines one’s freedom. The second effect is where, again the viewer views the projected negative image of themselves this time behind bars and when the bar gets touched by moving ones hands the hidden text along with the sound is heard. The drum sounds are put in for a playful effect and also to create a kind of noise. When touched, the bars change color and the words confining ones freedom are seen again. The last effect is where I want the viewer to ‘find their freedom’. The closer the viewer moves to the kinect, the more disintegrated their bodies become, showing the word freedom within them where as the farther u move, the word disappears and the consolidated body is seen.

For the performance and the installation I wanted to create a web/mesh-like area where people are interacting with the space and with each other, and moving to a soundtrack of interviews, where people are defining 'their' personal freedom. Their restricted movements redefine the meaning of the illusion of freedom. The more they feel that they are moving freely, the more they realize how restricted they are. The connection between the performing bodies in the mesh and the performance interaction with the kinect gets strengthened and create a combined aura and effect and re-establish the underlying concern of the illusion of freedom.

The performers for this performance were from different fields of practice, may it be theatre dance or fine art. The idea was to involve all and experiment with those movements that come out either because of interacting with each other or with interacting in a specific space together, improvising in the performers specific stylized movements.

The continuous shuffle of the performers between the net/mesh and the kinect space was also suggestive of the idea that in spite of full space of movement and “freedom” of movement, when in the space provided for kinect installation, the performing bodies were still trapped within the projection and within the effects created around them in the projection. Whether in the mesh, or in the kinect installation, the performer was always restricted and bound either by the web of threads or by simply being locked in the projected space of the wall...

The basic idea was to make the audience/viewer think deeply about the question "are we free?",and also redefining the idea of personal freedom by using the statements of a set of people and projecting and presenting it to the people/audience.

would love some feedback,criticism,appreciation...anything. :)

Share and support my creative endeavour.

love,

Gunjan :)

 

DanceArt Experimentation [ Rang Katha ]

Rang Katha: An Experimental Dance-Art Presentation

Poster of the event (Rang Katha) designed by Gunjan :)

Concept and Dance by – Gunjan Joshi and Neha Tickoo

Poetry – Neha Tickoo

Music Credits – MATTI MATTI, Johannes Moller ( Artists found on YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4B2gffzA_o – matti matti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDTFoDm8uUI - Johannes Moller

Sound/Music edits – Gunjan Joshi

Video Credits – Abhishek kukreja, Nahusha K, Gunjan Joshi

Video Edit – Gunjan Joshi

 

Rang katha in essence is a dance piece imagined on a cloth or canvas using the bodies to paint the surface. This piece was presented as part of our projects for our respective M.A specializations at AUD. The movements over the canvas become the strokes and the dancers themselves become the brushes. The tools used to paint or create art are thus the dancer’s body and the paint. Through this student presentation called rang katha we want to talk about the stereotypes of the body and beauty. “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”, truly said, this axiom becomes the central thematic.

  The notion of perfection and pure beauty, stereotypes present in the society about the fair skin, perfect height, and the pressure on people to look like the ideal man or woman and to feel beautiful are being discussed through the performance using the visuals on the canvas, as well as the poetry supporting the performance. Also the ideal mode of painting on canvas is being challenged by making the use of the body to create the artwork by its rhythmic movements. To imagine the beauty in terms of the 'pre-worked' canvas with stereotypes created on it or the end product of us, the brushes removing them or trying to brush it off is another question we pose to the audience. Apart from trying to create a rupture within these moulds of typical art making process or the typical body and beauty, the dancers try to bring out the pure and codified classical Indian dance forms of odissi and kathak out in the open to be viewed in public on the streets and somewhere even breaking their codes during the performance. The idea here is not to disrespect the classical dance styles, but to imagine and re-imagine the spaces and their relation to these dance forms. 

The imagination is to think out of the proscenium and to merge the dance with other movements to create something very different yet beautiful, using different spaces and different modes of the viewing. Here, we had the audience surround us from all four corners of the limited area of the canvas, which makes the viewing even more interesting as what a person from on angle would see, the other would see the same body but from a different perspective and a different angle. So the dance movements we present to the audience also do not remain the same for everyone as different angles are being constantly created for viewing by each member of the audience. This presentation essentially questions the “perfection” and tries to understand if anything remains or is perfect, whether we speak of the perfect body, perfect style of dance, perfect mode of painting, perfect space for a specific dance style and the aspect of perfect beauty.

The process to work began with us deciding on one concern and concept that relates well to both of us, further we began meeting and discussing about it, to think of visuals and the way it can be presented. Once the concept was in place, thinking about the dance styles and bringing in our respective years of training in Kathak or Odissi onto a new and unimagined space was planned. The idea to have minimal or no expressions was decided too as expressions play a very important role in Indian classical dances. The materials to work with except the body and its movements were practically discussed too. Personally, I prefer to not use canvas and always look for cost cutting and assessable materials to work with, but for the performance and the practicality of dancing, a thick cloth which wouldn’t make the dancers slip , a canvas was finalized. The music was edited on a software called audacity to infuse the ‘bol’ of the two classical dance forms, the poetry and a pleasing music track of an artist called Matti Matti was created. The reason behind choosing the artist was also thought of, as their music is a mix of sitar and an instrument called hang drum, again an unconventional combination, not a ‘perfect’ mix. Also this style would not only suit the classical dance styles but can support the movements of western dance forms like salsa, contemporary too, which were used by the performers to create an unusual mix of dance forms for the presentation.

Before the performance presentation began, the audience was asked to use markers, sketch pens, pens, etc to write their thoughts, draw, doodle, about what they felt were the common stereotypes of beauty and body onto the canvas and this process was recorded for an archive. The idea to make the audience write or interact with the canvas was to try bringing them closer and more connected to the performance, trying to create a curiosity and anxiety among them to see what would happen with their drawings or how it would effect the performance.

 Later, once the performance began, in spite of a few choreographed bits which were pre imagined and roughly rehearsed, the performing bodies too were left open to the field of improvisation, contact improvisation to see how one body itself reacts to the other and also around an audience and in a restricted space, to see what dance style or movements erupts from within the performer by merely reacting to the music and poetry as well as reacting to the canvas and paints. It becomes an exploration for the performer to feel the music, the vibes of the audience, the paints, the canvas and moreover connect with the thematic or the concern that was being brought out and discussed through the act. Through the action painting the action itself becomes of importance  rather than just the painting. What is also interesting to note, is how after the “painting” and at the end of the performance, the canvas still does not get fully covered with paint, leaving portions of the text or doodles etc to peep through, which could also suggest that however broad minded and open the society becomes, certain notions which stick to the mindset of people are very difficult to erase  and change or destroy, which forms the reality of how the society functions. 

Rang Katha Displayed in the Final semester Exhibition, AUD

 This piece was the first time we (Neha and I) collaborated and conceptualized a common concern into an action painting or a Dance-Art sequence. Inspite of being inspired by various artists who have used the medium of dance/movements and paints on a canvas, this project conceptually had a lot of experimentation and tweaking and adaptations of codified beliefs and systems.

Below is a YouTube Link to the experimentation. Hope we tried to bring out the concept in the performance.

Enjoy, 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KHAkGUMJV0

 

would love some feedback,criticism,appreciation...anything. :)

Share and support my creative endeavours.

love,
Gunjan :)