15 Feb 2012
Crossing Borders IPP Task
I listened to Lucy Cash’s Crossing Borders 06/11/09 talk. This talk began with the question ‘if an artist’s background is dance, but their work doesn’t come out through a movement form – do we call the work dance – or do we call it something else? Are we then dancers? Lucy Cash talks about how we can think of interdisciplinary performance work as an ‘applied craft’ and that we are ‘applied choreographers’.
I found it interesting to hear her background and about how events in her life have brought her to where she is today. Lucy cash trained in dance from a young age. She got hit by a car after a long morning of dance and dislocated her knee and fractured her skull – but didn’t break spine. She was then told she could no longer dance. After hearing this news she went to university to study performance and film. This exposed her to a range of theories and ideas. After graduating she worked as a performer and didn’t see herself as a maker. She began to leave behind this idea and began to make work herself.
She expresses how she is drawn to looking at the extraordinary appearance of ordinary things. When crossing art forms – words to think about: translation and displacement. Rather than being sought out, the sources will come to the artist. When collaborating, not all artists speak the same ‘language’. However, everyone has rhythmic intuition. As people we have an awareness of rhythm within life. The sequence of locking and unlocking a door is using rhythm in our everyday life. When an audience member sees a person fall on stage – the viewer falls too.
“Our body is in the world like the heart is in an animal”
“The purpose of art is to challenge perception”
“When we are silent and standing still, we are not resting, we’re searching inside ourselves for the turn”
I found it interesting to hear her background and about how events in her life have brought her to where she is today. Lucy cash trained in dance from a young age. She got hit by a car after a long morning of dance and dislocated her knee and fractured her skull – but didn’t break spine. She was then told she could no longer dance. After hearing this news she went to university to study performance and film. This exposed her to a range of theories and ideas. After graduating she worked as a performer and didn’t see herself as a maker. She began to leave behind this idea and began to make work herself.
She expresses how she is drawn to looking at the extraordinary appearance of ordinary things. When crossing art forms – words to think about: translation and displacement. Rather than being sought out, the sources will come to the artist. When collaborating, not all artists speak the same ‘language’. However, everyone has rhythmic intuition. As people we have an awareness of rhythm within life. The sequence of locking and unlocking a door is using rhythm in our everyday life. When an audience member sees a person fall on stage – the viewer falls too.
“Our body is in the world like the heart is in an animal”
“The purpose of art is to challenge perception”
“When we are silent and standing still, we are not resting, we’re searching inside ourselves for the turn”
Gaby Reuter - Inventory
Gabriele Reuter performed this extended piece at Coventry University (19/01/12). She is a well-known dance artist who works in Germany and also the East Midlands. In this piece Gabriele explores space, time, philosophies and her own existence within performance.
This solo invites the audience into this exploration at the same time as concealing elements that are personal to the performer. At first Gabriele defines the different spaces around her, identifying places for text and spoken word, political and critical thinking, props, obvious things and an area for her height. She also describes a large, soft, round area for dance and an accompanying one for music. Her movements are linked with words to describe her thoughts and ideas as she journeys across the empty space.
This work embraces the Post-modern celebration of everyday movement used within dance. She uses the style of pedestrian movement and explores the sounds that her body makes on the floor. Within her ‘Clipping Space’ section, Gabriele incorporates chopping arm movements with straight hands. Movement is juxtaposed with stillness as seen when she stands still saying ‘something is happening in the other side of the space, that doesn’t involve me’.
‘Inventory’ engages the audience with the idea that movement and expression is a valid dance form and anybody is a dancer. Doors only she can see are opened and defined spaces painted in the audiences mind. Some of these spaces are described as personal to the performer. For example, Gabriele tells us about a small box up high with a lock and golden key. She keeps her thoughts and ‘genius’ ideas hidden away within the box, and only lets them out occasionally. This example also reveals the humour within the piece, alongside vulnerability and honesty.
Time is explored in relation to space. She uses her body to convey the image of a clock, and states that she can show us time passing. A series of repetitive arm movements leads to the thought of what happened previously in this space. She questions ‘What was in this space?’, ‘What is above this space’ and ‘Where was I when I wasn’t in this space’?
This piece centres around Gabriele’s relaxed, natural performance style where she is at one with the audience. Within the work she says ‘the space between performer and audience is not empty, but we cannot see it, it is invisible’. This allows aspects of the performance to have no barriers at the same time as leaving some doors closed or slightly ajar.
This solo invites the audience into this exploration at the same time as concealing elements that are personal to the performer. At first Gabriele defines the different spaces around her, identifying places for text and spoken word, political and critical thinking, props, obvious things and an area for her height. She also describes a large, soft, round area for dance and an accompanying one for music. Her movements are linked with words to describe her thoughts and ideas as she journeys across the empty space.
This work embraces the Post-modern celebration of everyday movement used within dance. She uses the style of pedestrian movement and explores the sounds that her body makes on the floor. Within her ‘Clipping Space’ section, Gabriele incorporates chopping arm movements with straight hands. Movement is juxtaposed with stillness as seen when she stands still saying ‘something is happening in the other side of the space, that doesn’t involve me’.
‘Inventory’ engages the audience with the idea that movement and expression is a valid dance form and anybody is a dancer. Doors only she can see are opened and defined spaces painted in the audiences mind. Some of these spaces are described as personal to the performer. For example, Gabriele tells us about a small box up high with a lock and golden key. She keeps her thoughts and ‘genius’ ideas hidden away within the box, and only lets them out occasionally. This example also reveals the humour within the piece, alongside vulnerability and honesty.
Time is explored in relation to space. She uses her body to convey the image of a clock, and states that she can show us time passing. A series of repetitive arm movements leads to the thought of what happened previously in this space. She questions ‘What was in this space?’, ‘What is above this space’ and ‘Where was I when I wasn’t in this space’?
This piece centres around Gabriele’s relaxed, natural performance style where she is at one with the audience. Within the work she says ‘the space between performer and audience is not empty, but we cannot see it, it is invisible’. This allows aspects of the performance to have no barriers at the same time as leaving some doors closed or slightly ajar.
Studio Practice
What are my colours and textures? Constant change, breath, rotation, unexpected, levels, control... Surprises ... Trust I found that I could keep my eyes closed. I trusted the people around me and myself.
11 Dec 2011
Reflections on IPP2 Materials Workshop - Amy Voris
For the materials workshop I chose to use a set of fairy lights. I have them constantly hanging up in my bedroom all year round, to remind me of happy Christmas times. I explored with low lighting as this gave a new perspective on the material. As I moved with the fairy light source, images from past memories flooded through me. I played with the idea of being trapped, solving a puzzle, twisting movements and breaking free. I tried making shapes, patterns, and images.
While exploring this material, I remembered an extract from the Tufnell and Crickmay reading ‘A Wide Field’. The reading talks about how sensing and feeling is continuous in our daily lives. We all make connections with certain objects and textures. I realised that the bright, sparkling visual effect from the fairy lights had enticed me into choosing them. Materials can be used to represent who we are as people and how we like to be seen in society. I felt the fairy lights showed a side of my personality and also expressed emotion and connections I had to the material.
During the exploration, I had the idea of using my body to almost sculpt the lights around me. In ‘The Artist’s Body’ reading it mentioned how artists look at themes such as ‘fear, death and danger’ within their work. As I wrapped the lights around my waist, legs, neck and face, these images and themes also became present in my mind and work. This reading also talks about how the body is constantly changing. It is unstable and imprecise. Each body is different and expresses varied ideas and connotations through its behaviour. I remembered this idea when working with my own body and watching other members of the groups exploration.
Eventually as I moved the lights around, the plug fell out of the socket and I felt momentarily free. I could now move to any space within the environment, change shapes without restriction and move and dance with the rope of lights around me. However after a while I noticed that I didn’t have the same sense and feeling as to when the plug was in the socket and the lights lit up. My light source was extinguished. This made me question myself – Is anyone ever truly free? The resistance I felt both from the plugged in light source and when it was unlit and ‘free’ made me question the nature of freedom and restraint.
While exploring this material, I remembered an extract from the Tufnell and Crickmay reading ‘A Wide Field’. The reading talks about how sensing and feeling is continuous in our daily lives. We all make connections with certain objects and textures. I realised that the bright, sparkling visual effect from the fairy lights had enticed me into choosing them. Materials can be used to represent who we are as people and how we like to be seen in society. I felt the fairy lights showed a side of my personality and also expressed emotion and connections I had to the material.
During the exploration, I had the idea of using my body to almost sculpt the lights around me. In ‘The Artist’s Body’ reading it mentioned how artists look at themes such as ‘fear, death and danger’ within their work. As I wrapped the lights around my waist, legs, neck and face, these images and themes also became present in my mind and work. This reading also talks about how the body is constantly changing. It is unstable and imprecise. Each body is different and expresses varied ideas and connotations through its behaviour. I remembered this idea when working with my own body and watching other members of the groups exploration.
Eventually as I moved the lights around, the plug fell out of the socket and I felt momentarily free. I could now move to any space within the environment, change shapes without restriction and move and dance with the rope of lights around me. However after a while I noticed that I didn’t have the same sense and feeling as to when the plug was in the socket and the lights lit up. My light source was extinguished. This made me question myself – Is anyone ever truly free? The resistance I felt both from the plugged in light source and when it was unlit and ‘free’ made me question the nature of freedom and restraint.
IPP2 Christian Kipp Workshop
Christian Kipp is a photographer who collaborates with dance artists. We began the session by looking at some of his previous work. I noticed that in many of the collection, the composition of objects and landscapes looked as if there were many layers to each photo.
I was particularly interested in this photo from ‘Highlands’ as you could really see the detail of the textures on the stony rocks at the bottom of the photograph. This rough image juxtaposed with the smoother, cloudy sky. The mountain and lake almost separates the two textures.
I was very interested to hear how he collaborated with dance artists. He spoke about how he attended rehearsals and took photos of the dancers, space and process, then later when the dance work was complete, an exhibition of the photographs he took could be placed within the performance environment. Christian Kipp worked with Amy Voris on ‘Sift’ and ‘Sift 2’. They collaborated with light, projections and movement. We were shown the sequence of images that were projected in the performance and then we had the chance to explore these.
The space was completely dark and at first I found this unusual as normally in a lesson we would be in the light and focusing. However, when the projection began this gave me inspiration to move. The first projection was an orange pumpkin seed projected onto the wall. This made me think of life, birth and something beginning. I decided to improvise small, curling movements that grew bigger. Other images such as a farm house and red wooden panels sparked of strong continuous movements. My favourite projection was a black, textured wooden close up shot. As I went nearer to the projector I noticed the light was reflected onto my own body and also the other dancers around me. This made me think of sparkle dust and an almost ‘magic’ atmosphere within the space. I tried to catch and tap this projection on my skin. This projection was then projected onto the floor. It made it seem like a river that I could jump over and splash.
It was useful to see how shadows could be worked into a performance, and while moving to the projections we began to look at how shadows could be altered and then interact with each other. By moving closer and then further away from the projector, different effects could be made.
We also got the chance to work the projector and then sit out and watch the other dancers to see what the piece would look like from an outside perspective.
I really enjoyed this workshop and found it very useful. I particularly enjoyed actually being within the projection and moving to the images being projected.
I was particularly interested in this photo from ‘Highlands’ as you could really see the detail of the textures on the stony rocks at the bottom of the photograph. This rough image juxtaposed with the smoother, cloudy sky. The mountain and lake almost separates the two textures.
I was very interested to hear how he collaborated with dance artists. He spoke about how he attended rehearsals and took photos of the dancers, space and process, then later when the dance work was complete, an exhibition of the photographs he took could be placed within the performance environment. Christian Kipp worked with Amy Voris on ‘Sift’ and ‘Sift 2’. They collaborated with light, projections and movement. We were shown the sequence of images that were projected in the performance and then we had the chance to explore these.
The space was completely dark and at first I found this unusual as normally in a lesson we would be in the light and focusing. However, when the projection began this gave me inspiration to move. The first projection was an orange pumpkin seed projected onto the wall. This made me think of life, birth and something beginning. I decided to improvise small, curling movements that grew bigger. Other images such as a farm house and red wooden panels sparked of strong continuous movements. My favourite projection was a black, textured wooden close up shot. As I went nearer to the projector I noticed the light was reflected onto my own body and also the other dancers around me. This made me think of sparkle dust and an almost ‘magic’ atmosphere within the space. I tried to catch and tap this projection on my skin. This projection was then projected onto the floor. It made it seem like a river that I could jump over and splash.
It was useful to see how shadows could be worked into a performance, and while moving to the projections we began to look at how shadows could be altered and then interact with each other. By moving closer and then further away from the projector, different effects could be made.
We also got the chance to work the projector and then sit out and watch the other dancers to see what the piece would look like from an outside perspective.
I really enjoyed this workshop and found it very useful. I particularly enjoyed actually being within the projection and moving to the images being projected.
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