RE: [-empyre-] media architecture and cross-cultural influence
Response from the North East - of England... why do you specify "a film theatre", Christiane, as opposed to a "theatre theatre"? i.e. a theatre in which suspension of disbelief is not of the order of opposition between fleshed out and screened space, but of the order of differentiation between performing and observing beings, doers and viewers. Please don't imagine that this is my only theatre reference world - i.e. that denoted by the conventional stage / auditorium split, but I'm interested in the gradations of difference that get entangled in this suspension of disbelief in theatre, what I call "registers of presence" or perhaps of aliveness. Maybe this harks back to some of last month's 2nd Life exchange (with grateful thanks to those who participated while I lurked with a mix of excitement and irritation). But also, if we're talking about quotidian space, it raises questions about theatre forms that infiltrate and transform and requisition non-dedicated space. As anyone versed in ad hoc street theatre knows, carving out live art space from an everyday footpath is pretty gruelling.
A Turrell piece I found interesting was his collaboration with composer Pascal Dusapin for the Gertrude Stein opera "To be sung" - literally a portal as only Turrell can devise them, a light (luminescence, not weight) frame within which the musicians performed, that played on our retinas with its masterfully ambiguous wavelengths. It was very theatrical theatre in its refusal to offer us a frame for viewing it as such. Enjoyable paradox. Good music too.
But I'm sure I'm off key/ off subject. The world's an ellipse (Jarry) and I love tangents.
so what's Staten Island? sounds like a good "best of"!?
best
sjn
________________________________
From: empyre-bounces@gamera.cofa.unsw.edu.au on behalf of Christiane Robbins
Sent: Sun 09/09/2007 5:26 PM
To: soft_skinned_space
Subject: Re: [-empyre-] media architecture and cross-cultural influence
In response to James post:
"One certainly must not suspend disbelief to encounter a work of art
or a spatial experience. However, when presenting something outside
the quotidian one would prefer viewers to approach it with a bit more
consideration and engage it, especially in a gallery or museum. With
performance, theater, cinema, concerts and some art works (deMaria's
"Lightning Field" and some of Turrell's works) require a time
commitment from the viewer before one can even see them so the author
can expect a certain amount of attention and engagement."
The key phrase here is " when presenting something outside the
quotidian..." I would venture to say that a willing suspension of of
disbelief is contingent upon
a portal - point of passage if you will. One willingly enters into
an arena - a spatial condition - an architectural gesture - which is
indicative of a transition point. One leaves the quotidian and
enters into a space which is constructed to lend itself to a willing
suspension of disbelief. The most obvious example of such a space is
that of a theatre - a film theater.
Indeed, the siting of both De Maria's and Turrell's work - at least
that which I have experienced - does not speak to a quotidian
experience nor do their specific sitings. Arguably, they could be
said to appeal to a secular spiritualism. Their sitings and context
demand a distinct mode of interaction - one that demands a commitment
of time and engagement.
However, these works do exist concurrently with other practices which
directly engage with the quotidian, inclusive of the announcement
pasted below as well as those . For those of you in the East Coast
of the USA, perhaps some of you have participated in past events and
I would welcome your voices.
More later -
Chris
____________________
The FM Ferry Experiment
live broadcast from the
Staten Island Ferry
concept and programming by:
neuroTransmitter (Valerie Tevere + Angel Nevarez)
September 14, 15, 20, 21, 22,
27, 28, 29 - 2007
12 - 4 pm EST (NYC)
On-Air:
WSIA 88.9FM
http://www.fmferryexperiment.net <http://www.fmferryexperiment.net/>
In-Studio:
Hurricane Deck of the
Staten Island Ferry
reached via:
Whitehall Terminal -- 1 Whitehall St. Manhattan
St. George Terminal - 1 Bay St.
Staten Island
http://www.fmferryexperiment.net <http://www.fmferryexperiment.net/>
For eight days in September, neuroTransmitter presents The FM Ferry
Experiment, a project which transforms the Staten Island Ferry into a
floating radio station, broadcasting out to the NYC region as it
continuously travels between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan.
In 1967, The New York Avant-Garde Festival (1963-1980) founded by
Charlotte Moorman, landed on the Staten Island Ferry for 24-hours. In
the spirit of this festival, The FM Ferry Experiment integrates
broadcast and performance into one of New York's most traveled public
spaces, expanding its architecture out into the airwaves, engaging
publics on the ferry and on-the-air.
Live programs consisting of performances, lectures, and conversations
will take place on the Staten Island Ferry, and will be broadcast
along with music, sound, and ambient noise via WSIA 88.9 FM and
http://www.fmferryexperiment.net <http://www.fmferryexperiment.net/>
In-studio performances and appearances by:
31 Down, Dafne Boggeri, Ralf Homann, Jesal Kapadia & Sreshta
Premnath, Tianna Kennedy, Emily Jacir & Jamal Rayyis, Edward Miller,
School of Missing Studies with Peter Ferko, Xaviera Simmons, Brooke
Singer & Brian Rigney Hubbard, Sandra Skurvida, Alex Villar, Bojidar
Yanev
audio works by:
Julieta Aranda, Fia Backström, Mark & Stephen Beasley, Wiebe E.
Bijker, Bik Van der Pol, Nao Bustamante, Paul Chan, free103point9,
Wynne Greenwood & K8 Hardy, Maryam Jafri, Hassan Khan, Fabiano Kueva,
Brandon LaBelle, Pedro Lasch with Thomas Lasch & Audio Wizards,
Cristóbal Lehyt, LIGNA, Lana Lin, Jill Magid with Ed Vas, Naeem
Mohaiemen, Antoni Muntadas, Max Neuhaus, Phill Niblock, Carsten
Nicolai, Jenny Perlin, Cesare Pietroiusti, Radio Sonideros (Sara
Harris, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Keren Ness, Clare Robbins), Steve Roden,
Marina Rosenfeld, Kristen Roos & Jackson 2Bears, Martha Rosler,
Scanner, Hanna Rose Shell & Luke Fischbeck, Jason Simon,
Skyline, Judi Werthein
plus further socio-spatial experimentation, conversations, news
bulletins, music, archival broadcasts, and sing-alongs...
neurotransmitter - Initiated in 2001 by Angel Nevarez and Valerie
Tevere as a project whose work fuses conceptual practices with
transmission, sound performance, and mobile broadcast. Their work re-
articulates radio in multiple contexts considering new possibilities
for the broadcast spectrum as public space. Recent projects include:
WUNP, unitednationsplaza, Berlin, Germany; The Contemporary Museum,
Baltimore; The New Museum, NY; viafarini, Milan, Italy; The Anna
Akhmatova Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; Govett Brewster Museum, NZ;
Centre d'Art Passerelle, Brest, France; and Museu da Imagem e do Som,
Sao Paulo, Brazil. Tevere is an artist and Associate Professor of
Media Culture at the College of Staten Island, CUNY. Nevarez is an
artist, DJ, and musician.
WSIA 88.9 FM was founded in the mid-1970s by a group of students at
The College of Staten Island, CUNY who ran some wire to the cafeteria
and started spinning records. They then applied for a license and
have been broadcasting regularly since August 31, 1981. For over 25
years WSIA has featured a variety of programming, and the CSI
students who run the station have always been committed to being new
and innovative, and serving the Staten Island and Greater New York
community. WSIA broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week over the
air and online at http://www.wsia.fm <http://www.wsia.fm/>
The FM Ferry Experiment is produced in cooperation with the New York
City Department of Transportation and WSIA 88.9FM; and has been made
possible in part by The National Endowment for the Arts; The
Independence Community Foundation through The Staten Island Project
and College of Staten Island Foundation; Lower Manhattan Cultural
Council with support of The September 11th Fund; and Franklin Furnace
Fund for Performance Art, supported by NYSCA and Jerome Foundation;
with sponsorship from free103point9.
For more information:
http://www.fmferryexperiment.net <http://www.fmferryexperiment.net/>
info@fmferryexperiment.net
____________________________________
On Sep 9, 2007, at 5:58 AM, James Way wrote:
> Architecture is a visual art, at least in it origins - drawing, and
> it is the way most people, the blind and visually impaired being
> obvious exceptions, navigate their daily routes and actions. But
> really good architecture moves beyond only the visual to
> incorporate a relation to and a stimulation of the other senses,
> and this is when architecture is its most powerful. The
> orchestrating of landscape, which can cause variations in
> temperature, smell, sound: filtered light and shaded spaces, the
> smell of vegetation, the sound of leaves rustling. The use of
> materials to control temperature or impose a sense of weight and
> pressure on the body - the feeling of being in a cave, or a stone
> loggia, an arcade or wooden veranda. Materials used for their
> texture - smooth granite or rough concrete block, polished wood
> versus brick. Or the difference between being in a space where one
> can whisper to your partner versus where one must risk laryngitis.
> A room with a carpet versus hardwood floors versus concrete; they
> each have an acoustic property and a textural property, as well as
> a visual characteristic that greatly affects a quality of space.
>
> One certainly must not suspend disbelief to encounter a work of art
> or a spatial experience. However, when presenting something outside
> the quotidian one would prefer viewers to approach it with a bit
> more consideration and engage it, especially in a gallery or
> museum. With performance, theater, cinema, concerts and some art
> works (deMaria's "Lightning Field" and some of Turrell's works)
> require a time commitment from the viewer before one can even see
> them so the author can expect a certain amount of attention and
> engagement.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Kick back and relax with hot games and cool activities at the
> Messenger Café. http://www.cafemessenger.com <http://www.cafemessenger.com/> ?
> ocid=TXT_TAGHM_SeptHMtagline1
>
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre
Christiane Robbins
- JETZTZEIT -
... the space between zero and one ...
Walter Benjamin
LOS ANGELES I SAN FRANCISCO
The present age prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to
the original, fancy to reality, the appearance to the essence for in
these days illusion only is sacred, truth profane.
Ludwig Feuerbach, 1804-1872,
http://www.jetztzeit.net <http://www.jetztzeit.net/>
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