Sunday, March 1, 2020

Blog Week 7 (Nick M.)


Mira, Nick, Olivia, and Steve:

When I saw your presentation I was reminded of a piece I had heard last year which fused nature sounds with orchestra and electronic music into a rather seamless texture. I could not locate the piece I had heard, but reached out to a former professor who pointed me to a different piece which had a similar kind of fusion.



This movement is from a work by Mason Bates called Alternative energy. You might consider listening to as it constructs a narrative of a trajectory of energy production/consumption. It kind of ramps up its electronic techniques as it progresses, which seemed to relate your work to me.


Christopher, Hannah, Maya and Tessa:

The physically close collaboration of an instrument and dancer in your presentation was very compelling to me. I liked how you constructed clear characters for each of them. It reminded me of a song cycle by Schubert called Die schöne Müllerin. In the cycle multiple characters are depicted including the '"protagonist", a journeyman, and a brook. In the song below, The brook and the journeyman take turns speaking (via the vocalist). Throughout the piece, the brooks appears musically as well. In the final song, the journeyman has died and the brook is the only one to speak.



Aislinn, Bradley, Joey, and Nick:

In response to your idea about having zones delineated by colored lights (and sounds), I thought of this chamber opera I took part in a few years ago. I couldn't find a website where you could view more pictures or anything, but I do have this photo. There was a lot of play with colored lighting and in one scene we used a kind of inverted blue and red scheme where the character was lit from the front with blue light and from the back with red. It was a really cool effect and I wonder if you could experiment with having the lights from either side being cast on a person or object simultaneously.


Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Ariel Vidrio Week 7



Chris, Hannah, Maya, Tessa:
I was really fascinated by the relationship between Hannah and Maya. In the beginning, it was delicate and each movement flowed into the next and then it gradually got more forceful and disjointed. Partner work is so hard to do and I applaud the both of you. The only thing I could recommend is just try finding more ways in which you can share each other’s weight or give your whole to another. Good partner work can really make the audience feel at ease when it is meant to be light, floaty, and fun. This makes me think of the little partnering section in Teać Damsa’s, Loch na Heala (Swan Lake), which was performed at the Power Center last year. The music for the performance is beautiful to listen to as well, and tells a very vivid story, at least in my mind.


Aislinn, Bradley, Joey, and Nick:
I was very intrigued with the ways in which you all would engage with the audience. I am also curious to see how Nic’s moment at the lectern will play out. He had mentioned incopporating a microphone in the performance and it made me think of artist Bret Easterling’s new work, Brecht. I have linked a few photos and video below.





Mira, Nick, Olivia, and Steve:

I thought these sculptures of reused plastic were cute. You mentioned you would like to have more props onstage to set the scene.  If you wanted to be comical and had time, it could be fun and interesting to see something of this nature onstage.


Blog Week 7

Sky, Ariel, Ines, Geoff, Nick:


Our class discussion on the impact of a performance where the audience doesn't necessarily understand everything going on right away made me think of this "hidden microphone" video; it's not exactly using hidden microphones, but I'm providing it anyway because it made think of the idea of incorporating the audience in some way where they don't necessarily know that their actions affect the piece. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14_n-qXwtUk


I missed the first day of performances because I was in New York for interviews, but I did catch some bits from one group so here are my thoughts:

Chris, Hannah, Maya, Tessa:


I wasn't present for this performance but from the bits I've seen and heard, I think it could be really cool for your final segment to involve a settling after the final build as a bit of an audience fake-out.

Reference (Aislinn Bailie)

Hey all - I was out of town last week, so I am only showing my reference to Christopher, Hannah, Maya and Tessa, and looking forward to hearing about everyone else's work so far!

Whenever I think about nature and the impact humans have on our natural environment, I will always think about Pauline Oliveros and her impact on the way the new music and experimental community approaches our interactions with natural. Even though your subject material is more combative due to the nature of protest music, your beginning happenings reminded about her sonic meditations and more specifically a piece called "Earth Ears." I love this interview. 




Monday, February 24, 2020

Geoff blog post week 7

Mira, Nick, Olivia, and Steve:
I really liked how the piece evolved over time and became scarier as it went. The attack-like relationship between the musicians and Olivia was an interesting way to approach the dance-sonic relationship. I was reminded of the scene in the 2018 Suspiria remake, where the dancers a floor up are channeling some force beating another dancer below.

Christopher, Hannah, Maya and Tessa:


Aislinn, Bradley, Joey, and Nick:
I didn't see your performance, but I did hear/understand the choices you're fluctuating between. In my opinion, focusing on the online white liberal is a much more potent choice. This concept would remind me more of Lee Minora and Alice Yorke's White Feminist that UMS put on for No Safety Net this year.

Blog Week 7 (Sky Christoph)

Mira, Nick, Olivia, and Steve:
This might be a stretch but it feels connected for a couple reasons. First off, the way Olivia broke down movements into a few basic steps made me think of the way this really only highlights specific key moments of movement to emphasize them, leading the audience to believe something that is physically impossible. Also, Steve's small jerks of motion with the kick drums (if I remember that right) reminded me of this, as if the movement is being prompted by the light, or the performer is "caught" within that abrupt change, either in sonics or light.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/dance/100000002944572/learning-to-fly.html

Christopher, Hannah, Maya and Tessa:
You literally only see it from 0:31-0:33 ish, but the way that the performers in this are trapped within the plastic is something that comes to mind with the way you guys talked about filling the ground with trash and almost getting trapped in it, like Hannah was the plastic and Maya was the people in this case. They also have a beautiful sequence where feathers are thrown around and literally cover the stage. It's a joyous scene, but I think similar imagery with trash could serve well to make it far less positive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8AM-_KASr0
(I also just realized somebody recommended this performance for other reasons to another group, but I'm going to leave it because I think it's still relevant)

Aislinn, Bradley, Joey, and Nick:
Speaking on the idea of creating zones for people to move towards, or barriers that people need to find their way around, I thought of Richard Serra's Tilted Arc. It's a site-specific sculpture that was very hotly contested and went on trial, and video I linked includes excerpts from the trials. I thought of it because it was made to seem like it was about to fall, purposefully creating a feeling of unease, and also acted as a massive barrier that people would have to walk around in order to get past it. It was removed four years after it went up.
https://www.sfmoma.org/watch/richard-serra-on-trial-for-tilted-arc/

blog post inés hidalgo

Aislinn, Brad, Joey, Nick:
I was really intrigued by the idea of using the lectern as a vehicle for protest. The inherent power structures between the person at the lectern versus those watching is definitely worth exploring, and I think you are on the right path! I am interested to see how the caricature-like movement will communicate with the ambient music.

Christopher, Hannah, Maya, Tessa:
I loved this piece! The physical message that Hannah and Maya were creating was so powerful and gripping. I also loved Tessa's ending sequence music. I am really excited to see how you will put movement to that, but also interested to see if you don't, if that makes sense. This might be too ambitious, but maybe if there was no movement but instead a video that played to it depicting something about your message, that would rock.

Mira, Nick, Olivia, Steve:
I think that the dialogue between the musicians and dancer was super cool and interesting. I think you guys could take it much further though, perhaps with actual movement as well. I know it would be difficult to move the piano, but the other positions have an ability to interact further with the dancer. The dancing was also amazing and incredibly poignant. Maybe having props would provide a way to interact with the musicians.

Week 7 (Hannah Marcus)


Nic, Aislinn, Joey, Brad:

The way Nic was talking about the fetishization of the podium and how it is a symbol of power for leaders reminded me of this performance I saw. You can only spot it in this trailer for a couple seconds between 0:43 and 0:49, but the performer with the foam hand/finger would point at other performers and the audience in a deeply confronting way. I think it took on its own power beyond its identity as an inanimate object, and the performer's character knew how to exploit this.



https://vimeo.com/323837877






***I missed the Tuesday showings, but from the tidbits I've heard from Ariel and Olivia about their groups, I will go for it.


Nick, Mira, Olivia, Steve:

Thinking about a funeral ceremony for Mother Earth-- I was reminded of this work by Teac Damsa because it deals with ritual and death in an interesting way, positioning lively ceremonies (birth) up against an underlying remnant of destruction and expiration. (It's a take on the story of Swan Lake).


Sky, Ariel, Ines, Geoff, Nick:

A truth that is hidden and multiple layers that prevent us from uncovering the truth-- makes me think of language getting in the way. From a sonic perspective, here's Avis 4 by Georges Aperghis. I'm assuming this is not the aesthetic you're going for at all, but it still creates a pile of information that feels difficult to sift through in an attempt to chip at the crux of the issue.








Week 7 [joey fortino]

Ariel, Nick, Inés, Sky, and Geoff:

I enjoyed the ambiguity between whether Ariel was moving to the music or if the music was improvised to the music. There is a connectedness there that is very profound. I also thought the use of morse code was really moving and effective because it felt to me as if the truth about these issues is trying to come out but is being filtered intentionally by corporations. Thought this was a great way to directly represent what you were going for. I stand by my suggestion to make the source material for the morse code be actually exposing truths about the environmental impact of big industry. The vocal processing and droning in your piece reminds of me this performance from Dan Deacon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heFRwLfjVXI

Olivia, Mira, Nick, and Steve:

This piece was super emotional and moving for me. I really enjoyed all the vocal processing, piano, electronics, and movement. The movements felt very taxing. There was a lot of visible effort there which went well with how nick was playing the piano and how steve was using the push. I thought it looked like Olivia was planting some sort of seed. Even though this was wrong I still like that juxtaposition of natural disaster atmosphere with this last-ditch attempt to start something beautiful. With this contrast in mind, I think to this video. It shows both beautiful growth and beautiful decay which is so powerful as imagery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP_-P_BS6KY


Hannah, Maya, Tessa, and Christopher:

I really enjoyed the interactions between Maya and Hannah. I thought it was very straightforward but without being heavy handed. I also thought this represented your message very effectively. I think that Maya and Hannah could break off to represent the earth after humans stop leaching for one reason or another. Very curious to see how you guys pace out the timeline of the relationship. I also Would love to hear Maya's playing incorporate more harmonics because of how they appear in nature. One example could be this piece by MMW and nels cline. The bassist performs with odd atmosphere stuff and uses lots of harmonics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUqd1ZZ2OQ

Blog Post #4

Bradley, Aislinn, Joey and Nick- The aesthetic feeling of your performance reminded me of an exhibit/ambience experience, especially with how dark the environment was in relation to your lighting explorations. It reminded me of a project I was able to see in California by a troupe of engineers, programmers designers, animators and mathematicians under the name of teamlab. They do a fantastic job at creating an entirely new atmosphere in black space using lights, color and ambience.

https://www.teamlab.art/e/living_digital_space/

Ariel, Inés, Nick, Sky and Geoff- I love how Ariel plays with a prop that delivers sonic qualities- it gives a specific agency to a performer when they can make sounds and movement within the same sphere. It’s beautiful how influenced all the musicians are by the trajectory of Ariel’s movement, and a relationship between the musician and the dancer (which should always be established and valued in a performance setting) makes me think of the dynamic improvised sets between tap dancers and jazz musicians. This duet of Hiromi Uehara (piano) and Kazunori Kumagai (tap) in particular is really interesting to me and is reminiscent of the power that comes from metal. 



Maya, Hannah, Tessa and Christopher- I love the physically direct relationship between Hannah and Maya, which reminded me of the relationship in this DV8 performance- there is a similar exertion of expression and influence/authority, where each individual has a different balance of both qualities. 

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