UNDISSOLVED - A performance experience
We live in a world of constantly and insistently blurring boundaries. In every sphere.
The Art world is no less competitive in claiming its 'newness'. With technology invading every aspect of everyone's lives, there is hardly any difference between an artist and a computer software. No technology can equal the vastness and variety of human mind, of course, but , sometimes I wonder, are artists really comfortable with giving up or sharing their crowns?
Even with regard to the Art forms, there is so much of interdisciplinary experiments happening that you can no longer pinpoint an art work as belonging particularly to one single form.
Every Art form is inherently inter-disciplinary by nature, the contemporary world is making it obvious and extremely direct, so much so that sometimes each form appears as a lonely island. Artists are navigating between the different ways Art can be expressed and are taking in different aspects from each. The whole world has expanded as the artists' canvas and practically anything/everything seems to pass off as 'Art' if presented impressively.
What I found difficult to understand initially was the difference between 'Dance' and Performance art'.
Wasn't dance a performance in itself ? But somehow it did not work the other way round - every 'performance' could not be 'dance'. ( Using the terms in a very pedantic context).
What I understood during my unit 1 of research and experimentation was that when the human body is involved, in however subtle or strong approach, it becomes a performance. The body might not even move, but just its presence makes it a performance.
Does the presence of anything else organic also make a work a performance? is it necessary for the performing 'thing' to have a mind of its own which would control 'what' and 'how' was 'performed' or 'un performed'? And, if the organic 'thing' is a human body but is stripped of its 'mind' and its'control element' ? what would be the outcomes ?
UNDISSOLVED was an attempt to address these among many other questions.
A group work of 8 people, it had the elements that I usually love to have in my works - characters, narrative, and a sense of surrealism and an inquiry into the metaphysical aspects of life.
The theme is derived from the classic fairy tale ‘the Sleeping Beauty’, more specifically from the character of the witch with the spindle, who is the reason for the princess’s sleep.
I see this character as someone existing on a threshold between life and death, between real and unreal. She is like the door that can either open or remain closed. Being precariously balanced on this bridge between the white and the black so to speak symbolically, the performance had characters that live in that imaginary liquid world. Characters that do not know they exist, do not realize the existence of the others around them, and neither belong to this world and nor not belong. Belonging to an imaginary emotional world, their physical presence also becomes an illusion.
While 'creating' the piece, I wanted to get rid of all our assumptions and presuppositions, to free all of us from the idea of simply following what was told, and to become as attuned to the stream of consciousness as possible. For this we did a few improvisation exercises, where we focused on one particular emotion ( which helped to shape each one's character as well) and gave free reign to any and every body response that emerged from it. After solos we did duets and group improvisation, where our interactions with each other were completely unplanned and we went with the flow of spontaneity. It was more like a (re)staging of a part of daily life where encounters/interactions are impromptu.
The experience was different for all 8 of us. None of us knew what to follow because there was nothing to follow. This led to very different experiences for each. Though there was a sense of being lost in the beginning, as the time spent together as a group increased there was more coherance in terms of what their characters were and how they would relate/respond to each other. Francesca Cappozio developed herself as a humming bird who felt the need to escape to the white sky she couldn't reach, and Kasinath emerged as a lost soul who had forgotten to speak. Ranjitha Chowalloor, a trained Mohiniattam dancer, derived her character around the myth of 'mohini' - 'They say in heaven, she is Mohini - The Enchantress
On earth, she is a Woman - The Nayika, The lover. I don't know who I am or the name of this space I exist , but I am in love with the idea of being in love'.
Alkiste emerged as the most autocratic character of the world, where as Parul, using her screams to give vent to something which was not there anymore, was the most fearful one.
Harsh and jess into beings that were deluded and incoherent.
The character of the witch is not ‘present, is not physically embodied by a performer, though she is metaphorically present as the controller of this world of seemingly mindless characters. Is physical absence an illusion?
It was not a time –bound piece, and we moved in solos, duets, and groups, creating a surreal feel.
The Art world is no less competitive in claiming its 'newness'. With technology invading every aspect of everyone's lives, there is hardly any difference between an artist and a computer software. No technology can equal the vastness and variety of human mind, of course, but , sometimes I wonder, are artists really comfortable with giving up or sharing their crowns?
Even with regard to the Art forms, there is so much of interdisciplinary experiments happening that you can no longer pinpoint an art work as belonging particularly to one single form.
Every Art form is inherently inter-disciplinary by nature, the contemporary world is making it obvious and extremely direct, so much so that sometimes each form appears as a lonely island. Artists are navigating between the different ways Art can be expressed and are taking in different aspects from each. The whole world has expanded as the artists' canvas and practically anything/everything seems to pass off as 'Art' if presented impressively.
What I found difficult to understand initially was the difference between 'Dance' and Performance art'.
Wasn't dance a performance in itself ? But somehow it did not work the other way round - every 'performance' could not be 'dance'. ( Using the terms in a very pedantic context).
What I understood during my unit 1 of research and experimentation was that when the human body is involved, in however subtle or strong approach, it becomes a performance. The body might not even move, but just its presence makes it a performance.
Does the presence of anything else organic also make a work a performance? is it necessary for the performing 'thing' to have a mind of its own which would control 'what' and 'how' was 'performed' or 'un performed'? And, if the organic 'thing' is a human body but is stripped of its 'mind' and its'control element' ? what would be the outcomes ?
UNDISSOLVED was an attempt to address these among many other questions.
A group work of 8 people, it had the elements that I usually love to have in my works - characters, narrative, and a sense of surrealism and an inquiry into the metaphysical aspects of life.
The theme is derived from the classic fairy tale ‘the Sleeping Beauty’, more specifically from the character of the witch with the spindle, who is the reason for the princess’s sleep.
I see this character as someone existing on a threshold between life and death, between real and unreal. She is like the door that can either open or remain closed. Being precariously balanced on this bridge between the white and the black so to speak symbolically, the performance had characters that live in that imaginary liquid world. Characters that do not know they exist, do not realize the existence of the others around them, and neither belong to this world and nor not belong. Belonging to an imaginary emotional world, their physical presence also becomes an illusion.
While 'creating' the piece, I wanted to get rid of all our assumptions and presuppositions, to free all of us from the idea of simply following what was told, and to become as attuned to the stream of consciousness as possible. For this we did a few improvisation exercises, where we focused on one particular emotion ( which helped to shape each one's character as well) and gave free reign to any and every body response that emerged from it. After solos we did duets and group improvisation, where our interactions with each other were completely unplanned and we went with the flow of spontaneity. It was more like a (re)staging of a part of daily life where encounters/interactions are impromptu.
The experience was different for all 8 of us. None of us knew what to follow because there was nothing to follow. This led to very different experiences for each. Though there was a sense of being lost in the beginning, as the time spent together as a group increased there was more coherance in terms of what their characters were and how they would relate/respond to each other. Francesca Cappozio developed herself as a humming bird who felt the need to escape to the white sky she couldn't reach, and Kasinath emerged as a lost soul who had forgotten to speak. Ranjitha Chowalloor, a trained Mohiniattam dancer, derived her character around the myth of 'mohini' - 'They say in heaven, she is Mohini - The Enchantress
On earth, she is a Woman - The Nayika, The lover. I don't know who I am or the name of this space I exist , but I am in love with the idea of being in love'.
Alkiste emerged as the most autocratic character of the world, where as Parul, using her screams to give vent to something which was not there anymore, was the most fearful one.
Harsh and jess into beings that were deluded and incoherent.
The character of the witch is not ‘present, is not physically embodied by a performer, though she is metaphorically present as the controller of this world of seemingly mindless characters. Is physical absence an illusion?
It was not a time –bound piece, and we moved in solos, duets, and groups, creating a surreal feel.
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