Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. in Cirkulacija 2, Ajdovščina subway Ljubljana: 

O

“There is nothing more interesting than the constant exploration of the strange paths of freedom. We are in an open and slippery space, where the image of freedom flows from one form to another. The border between the living and the technological fades, deliberation and mechanical determinism shatter against the unpredictability of the present moment. So , always anew, we discover aliveness in technological devices and mechanical patterns in ourselves. In this tight clinch of unpredictability and constant change on the one hand and fixed constructs on the other, we build that “impossible” performance that cannot be done in any other way.”

Cast:
Borut Kržišnik    – sound
Jurij Podgoršek – code
Ryuzo Fukuhara – movement
Simon Svetlik – video
Special credit: Bass Jansson

An interactive dance performance where the audio and video parts of the performance are controlled by the dancer’s movements. The video is mainly generative in nature. The sound image is based on Borut Kržišnik‘s new album Utopia. 

Through our actions in the human mind, we discover mechanical/programmed patterns of action. Not only is technology all around us; it is also within us. In other words: Our bodies can be viewed as a technological achievement of evolution. Only when we recognize/acknowledge/accept our material/mechanical/automatic part (our hardware body) with its permanent tendencies, can we begin to look for the rest and question free will.

On the other hand, we discover the liveliness and unpredictability of machines/technology. With computers and machines, we can create the illusion of “life”, when programmed sequences, algorithms and dynamic interactions between devices take their own path with their own rules, and create their own “impossible” performance, which live performers could not possibly perform – precisely the research of such capabilities is at the core of our experimentation.

The dancer’s choreography is based on the motivation of maintaining body “movement”, which is enlivened by his imagination/interpretation of the “flow of layers” environment. Dance is created as a communication with the flow of elements in the environment and the body. Moving, the dancer is equipped with a quick awareness to develop variations of movement; it is also equipped with sensors that send data on changes in body position used by the rest of the cast.

The environment consists of a flow of layers created from different ingredients such as air, sound, light, temperature, smell, architecture and people’s perspective. The environment is also a dancer. Since his movement controls sound and video projection, his dance in the room is more obvious, more present. In this way, it is in a loop with itself, but within an open system, because the sound and video are also controlled by the musician and the videographer.

When in the performance we explore the possibilities of erasing the boundaries of media and their interactions and the possibility of interactions between live and machine action, we use live/analog and digitally created audio-visual materials, which we process in real time using/modulating various programs    devices; we combine our “live” action with computer algorithms and hardware.

O is an experimental event series that combines music, video and dance for the fourteenth year,    is a work in progress and as such remains open. The aim of our (collectively conceived) art is to explore the relationship between life and machine. With the performances, we place ourselves between the freedom and unpredictability of the “live” moment on the one hand, and the certainty and mechanical (machine) operation of the computer, audio and video devices on the other. Both “extremes” are in constant interaction; the line between them gradually fades.

Dogodek je del programa Cirkulacije 2, ki ga sofinancira Mestna občina Ljubljana.