EMMA: New Ground

blog assignment

When I think about innovation, I think about both vision in work and the ability to create and investigate problems in a way that reframes previous conceptions of work. I think about artists who have reframed their view of the body and its movement aesthetic and who have used that knowledge or process to make work that captivates and challenges the viewer. Dance is continually reinventing itself and dance artists, who participate in such a limited slice of the history and breadth of the field, make personal innovations even when these shifts in thinking and making may not affect the course of the discipline.

Currently I see many of the technology tools that we have touched on in class as being important tools for us. Whether it's sensor technology, responsive environments, or projected imagery, these tools create "total theater" in the Nikolais tradition. I'm not sure that I see technology expanding or driving the field, but I do see it as moving our field closer to merging with other mediated art forms.

After these two quarters I don't know that I've really developed an understanding of the breadth of technological tools. I feel like I developed an understanding of systems thinking and the philosophies of interactive installation or performance work. I think this type of work has some interesting potential applications, but I find myself resistant to working in this way. Perhaps because I came back to school to develop my ability to articulate my aesthetic, which at this point is more about representation than interaction...

posted by Ashley @ 7:39 PM