After I reviewed at the readings in
this module, I realized dance and theater is perhaps the most transformed and
altered by digital media. In such a
"body-centric" means of expression, digital media deeply challenges
the relationship that the body has in these works of expressive art. An even deeper evaluation of the digital
media in dance and theatre allows us to examine how we use our bodies as a tool
of expression and how technology can be mediated in that experience. The third conclusion that I came to during
these readings is that digital tools are highly trans-formative in that they
broaden the capabilities that artists have in fulfilling their vision for
expression. As art is a tool which can
be used as an agent in discovery, it is clear that in this lens we can use art
to sort out all of the concurrent relationships between these entities.
Dance is described as an
"active interrogation of time, space, the engagement between intellect and
the sense, the real and the imaginary,...It is ultimately fluid and
changing,..." (Gunduz, 2012). With
the body being the primary tool in dance and theatre in the traditional sense,
the realization of why the body is used as such may be taken for granted
because of the traditional practices of dance.
The routine use of the body for both the performer and the audience is
normed and the injection of technology challenges these cultural practices in
this form of expression. Thus,
commentators focus on the ways in which the body "[constructs and deconstructs]
time, [the] dialog with gravity...[and the exploration of form]" and come
to conclusions how this all comes to be. (Gunduz, 2012). Trans-formative as technology is, it bends the
reality of gravity, form and time and can be seen potentially separating the body from this
expressive art, disembodying dance. The
same factors/characteristics that were once definitive of dance may no longer
be present or relevant and this sentiment is most likely worrying to the most
ludditic of dance and theatre critics.
Fortunately enough, injecting
technology has the capacity to transform dance and theatre in ways that were
not possible before and digital media extends the realm of expression. According to Katherine Hayles, "art is
capable of bridging the gap or discontinuities between rapid technological
innovations, an abstract understanding of the human body, and our embodied
experience" (Gunduz, 2012)
Furthermore, according to David Saltz, theatre theorist in the reading
Digital Dance, "digital interactive media have other characteristics that
those of traditional media, such as responding in 'real time' to the input of
the performer...[enhancing] the spontaneity or variability of a live
performance; they enable new possibilities of staging narratives; and also
produce a novel relationship between the performer and media" (2012).
In terms of narratives, Whit
MacLaughlin utilized the social media platform Facebook as an element within his
production of Fatebook. “MacLaughlin
cast 13 people who then created alternative identities, and those characters,
set up real Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube videos, including self-portraits…[they]
posted regular updates…[and] a Fatebook website tied it all together allowing
visitors to explore by character…to see more clearly the interconnectedness of
the characters” (Mandell, 2013). The
show itself was posed as a party and the theatre space was transformed under
the guise of mimicking “surfing through cyberspace” and examining the
interactions of the various characters. With
the roots of the show in cyberspace, the inclusion of this element not only
allowed the viewers to examine their own interactions with digital media but
the thematic element transformed the show into something it could not have
been, something that transcended time and physical space and allowed a new
narrative to take place in a transformed theatre space.
In terms of interactive work, in the book, "Art and
Electronic Media" I came across artist Tom Shannon's work. "Squat", an interactive sculpture,
consisting of plants, electricity and metal is a unique commentary on the
relationship between organic and inorganic materials, humans and machines. "Built in 1966... Squat, a robot
electrically connected to an ivy plant placed on a table in the same room, was
one of the earliest pieces in the US to explore issues of interspecies
communication, feedback, and the interaction of organisms with their
environment" (Jones, 2006) Within this piece, “touching the plant
[triggers] a voltage change, activating the motors of the robotic sculpture,
which moves, retracting and extending its three legs and two arms while making
humming and chirping sounds. The user
could stop the robot by touching the plant again” (Shanken, 2009). The aesthetic of exposing the immediate
relationship between humans and machines shows how the direct interaction
between both affectively changes the environment and space that they both
occupy. The introduction of the plant
further highlights the contrasting differences between organic and inorganic components
and while different, the cooperation of both shows how a symbiotic relationship
can exist.
In conclusion, while some may fear how digital tools may
change expressive arts, the benefits of their inclusion in performances and
theatre transforms the expressive arts in new ways that were not possible
before. Digital tools/media extend our
limits of expressions that were once stifled by gravity, time and space. Not only is their inclusion beneficial for
the performance, but they also allow us to evaluate the role of technology in
our life.
Gündüz Z. (2012) Digital Dance: Encounters between Media
Technologies and the Dancing Body309-333.
Jones, A. (2006). A companion to contemporary art since
1945. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Mandell, J. (2013, January 1). All the Media Is a Stage:
Theatre, the Original Social Media, Meets Its Digital Counterparts in
Form-Breaking New Live/virtual Experiments. American Theatre, 76-80.
Shanken, E. (2009). Art and electronic media. London:
Phaidon Press.
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