Lab 2 - Proposal

 

Guerilla VJ in London

 

What is VJ?

What is VJ for me?

Why I’m doing VJ?

Am I doing/being VJ now?

 

Although I used to answer with confidence, these questions always have been the main question toward myself. Why are these questions always remained as ‘question’?

 

What really VJ is? 

Is it motion grapher? Is it video designer? Is it video/visual performer? Is it interactive-art artist? Is it digital artist? Is it stage video/visual director? What is it?
Mia Makela who is a ‘Live Cinema’ performer said “Today the term of VJ refers to video performance artists that create live visuals in tandem with different style of music in various environments..” 

Basically, as a counterpart of DJ, VJ is not a video player but a performer as they  accelerate inter/outer real-time communion with participators, even with themselves, within a performance. Pulsating non-narrative visual strongly oriented with music/sound/noise evokes and stimulates human perception. Performer (VJ and DJ) and participant can be mixed and reinforced its feedback loop in this real-time liveness. Moreover, according to my own experiences as a VJ, even performer themselves experience its spiritual shifting into the liminal state and its feedback loop through its unpredicted visual occurrences. Throughout this experience, I often experienced self-meditation and evacuation of conscious and unconsciousness from reality, which means that its non-linear, non-verbal and non-narrative visual language generates liminal state and its poetic narrative journey into individual moment. At this moment, sonic and visual experience blur the each boundary and subsequently converge on the liminal feedback loop. On top of that, its real-time liveness, thus (I assert) improvisation, is the dominant fuel for accelerating of this process. According to the Jeff Pressing, ‘Musical improvisation has also been considered as a vehicle for consciousness expansion and the tapping of deep intuitions.’ (Pressing 1987:11) The work of VJ is directly affected by sonic/musical inspiration as it purposes collaborative multi-sensory acceleration. Without this element, improvisation, DJ’s and VJ’s performance can not be defined themselves as its own distinct characteristics. 

 

I believe that the moment of improvisation is the reflection of ego beyond persona. Moreover, its collective transformative notion shapes simultaneous resonance with participators. Therefore VJ is the way of meditation and its improvisation is the way of instinct visual language.

 

However, the challenge are also clear on this VJ performance. Firstly, It obviously needs sonic, musical inspiration and secondly, the prejudice on its amateurism and club-commercialism.

As a VJ, I want to deeply explore my visual language and its expansion into my instinct. And moreover I want to test how it communicate with not only my inside but also spectator/audience.

At the first lab, I wanted to test the possibility of generating sound and video/visual performance via isadora. And how this visualization would be similar with audience and how to make the resonance with audience.

And the interim-show, I wanted to test telematic improvisational communication as my VJ visual source and secondly, I wanted to pose a notion of party into the collaborative work and explore how it emerge and affect the transcontinental environment.

From the first lab, I learned exciting infinite realm of sound manipulation via isadora. 

And from the interim-show, I learned its difficulty of party production and posing the telematic element into a performance and how hard to make harmony within its various element into successful improvisation is.

 

For the last lab, I want to push me into more live and improvisational environment. I want to test my visual language into this City, London. 

‘Guerilla VJ in London’ is outdoor VJ experiment in city, London.
Especially, I will go out with a laptop, projector and visual source I’ve made and filmed in this city and find street musician especially on the South Bank in the night. If some musician gives me inspiration, I’ll ask him/her whether or not I can join as a visual painter into their performance space. If he/she accepts my suggestion, I’ll perform my VJ performance with his/her music.

The weather is going to be big deal with this performance and moreover its outdoor environment will be harsh to me. I have to bring lots of gadgets and deal with unexpected issues or even dangerous situation. But I’m also sure that the moment of improvisational mixing visual, sound and audience’s resonance will give me new meditation and also I can give them something unexpectedly. The moment will be shifted into liminal stage and its internalization will be marked on ‘the moment’.

[tech rider]

 

Equipment list	Qty	Note
Macbook	1	isadora / VDMX
Projector	1
Camera	1	recording
web camera	1	live capture (not fixed)
Portable electric generator	1
tripod	3	camera / projector , laptop stand

 

 

[example of the outdoor casual projector stand using tripod.] 

 

Lab 2 - Process

1) design poster and advertise via sns.

2) building visual concept and prepare source / programming isadora. 

    I want to use my everyday filming in London.
    I believe that the non-narrative VJ performance strongly reflects the fragments of me and my life.
    VJ is the way of speaking, drawing my deep sound and the improvisational performance can acclerate its transformative power.
    My life and my sound will express as visual language during improvisational collaboration performance with street musician who I don't know.

   However, I checked street musician 1 week before this performance as I want to know it's possible on the riverside of South bank. 
   South bank is quite good place for performance as its dramatic, poetic environments.

   I imagine visual performing with street musician in my head below.

   - concept : simple + poetic + line drawing on te road

[simulation visual concept]

[isadora patch for the simulation : mouse movement catching the media and mixing visual real-time]

 

3) wood workshop for triport-standing

 

Lab 2 - Performance day

on 5th May, Sat
I just went out to the South Bank Riverside and there were amazing street musician under the bridge I've never seen before.

They were young jazz band, 'psylus' and doing amazing performance. So I just asked them me to join with them. 

(http://www.facebook.com/psylusmusic)

 And then, I did my guerilla VJ.

[say hello and join them] 

[highlight of 1st guerilla VJ on the South Bank riverside] 

Lab 2 - limitation and problem

- broken VGA cable could only displayed 'red' color : should have checked all equipments in advance

- VJ technical skill : need more practice VJ using various VJ software like a club VJ

- various visual source work for various 'improvisational' situation

- heavy equipments and dealing with harshness of outdoor environment

 

Lab 2 - presentation

 

 To be honest, as a long time experienced VJ, it was obviously ugly VJ performance. 

 But, I'm proud of this experience in London and want to develop it.

 Especially, thanks to Soohee helped me a lot on that day. 

 

 

 

Day 6

20/03/12
The number of Faithful Whatching people  : 25

All streaming broadcasting Duration : 39 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 1484

Recommandation : 4

 

Live streaming scene (laptop + iPhone)

about 4 and a half hours : studio

Today, Tim and other colleague in the studio asked me about laptop streaming and on that time, unfortunately, there were no people in the chatting room from Korea. Day by day, it's been cleared that the people from Korea are not active but just come and go instantley as there's been no feedback from me or other people here. Interestingly, one Korean in laptop streaming tried  to write and say hello in English several times and nobody answered from here. 

 

I discussed about making a screen in the corner for projection with curation team, Thelma, Katheryn, James and Yuan, and they recommanded me to avoid construct heavy structure for making screen although it's just a simple wood panel or fabric. I think, it's because its size and projection condition. For projection onto the screen, I'll put a projector on the 1st floor and it has about 7m distance from the screen means 4m width projection screening. However, because of its disutility I decided to change my plan and made another space simulation.
I think, making simple on technology is the answer for successful show. I've ordered wireless IP camera and been waiting for it. If the wireless camera makes the performance complicate, I'll try to make it simple as much as possible. Today, Thelma recommaned changing the position of the two projection, VJing and screening from Korea. 
However, this is the 4th one. And I'm quite happy and thinking about wireless streaming and its development.

For the chatting PDP via skype next to our bar, I'm going to make flyer for spreading out on certain area in Korea. I'm thinking the area aroung Hoingik uni. is most famous area for club and yong generation's culture and also it's where the club I'll connect in.

Day 5 

After testing it on Friday, I've started another live streaming using laptop which put in the studio, and I want to test whether or not people in here will give feedback to Korea.
As this streaming internet is in Korean, I wonder how people here will communicate with them.
However, as its streaming in two way, my broadcasting duration has rapidly increased and the number of watching people as well.

19/03/12
The number of Faithful Whatching people  : 23

All streaming broadcasting Duration : 30 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 1289

Recommandation : 6

 

Live streaming scene (laptop + iPhone)

about 6 and a half hours : studio

 Interestingly, the people in iPhone straming room is more active than laptop one. I don't know why.I think, it's because the afreeca streaming service has seperate part for mobile streaming in their site.

However, most people in Korea, they just came in and out instantly because there's no feedback from me. Some of them tried to 'say hello' and even wrote in English, I didn't gove them feed back at all, which cause its instant connection.

And, here were some people asked me what it is and little bit wondering capturing their life. 

 

Day 4

16/03/12
The number of Faithful Whatching people  : 18

All streaming broadcasting Duration : 17 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 834

Recommandation : 0

 

 

Live streaming scene

about 3 hours : studio

about 2 hours : pub 'leather down' near college with Katheryn

 

When I was in the pub with Katheryn, they asked lots of question about London and people as they always, at last I started answering which made lots of feedback from them. Because of my active engagement and answering in Korean, more people kept in touch and staying in chatting room. One of them asked me time, my friend Katheryn and Korean soccer player in Manchester United, JiSung Park.

So far, whenever I'm doing this, I want to capture all of dialogue in the chatting room. Moreover, I'm trying to set another laptop live streaming in the studio and I want to exam how many people in studio will engage or give a feedback spontaneously without any information even different language. Unfotunately, I failed to set up this streaming service for another laptop as its sound system is broken and it caused Korean people couldn't hear the sound from here, studio.

I'll try again.

However, one Korean named '욜횻' has been watching continuously for 3 days.

 

Day 3

The number of Faitful Whatching people  : 18
All streaming broadcasting Duration : 13 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 653

Recommandation : 0

 

Live streaming scene
about 1 and a half hour : discussion about our interim show in studio
about 2 and a half hour : performance lecture in seminar room

Almost every Koreans in my live streaming room was really curious about the situation and wanted to understand our English. Especially, some people asked me about what's going on now and where was it. But, still I didn't answer and took just live time what I was watching.

They seemed to 100% believe what they were watching and it was London.

This is one capture of their chatting.

seungwoo0610 : hey! BJ! (the host of live streaming : me)
seungwoo0610 : who is BJ?
<norice> i18짜증나 in
seungwoo0610 : who
seungwoo0610 : is the BJ of this room?
<norice> i18짜증나 out

마몰레드 : (expression of face about crying like ':(') ㅠㅠ
욜홋 : Please read this ….
take82 : oh! travel xx
마몰레드 : I'm planning go with my friend (---> this person seems to plan to travel to London) 

 

 

 

I've changed this project name to this, 'Life streaming ; London Life'

Day 2

The number of Faitful Whatching people  : 16
All streaming broadcasting Duration : 9 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 474

Recommandation : 2

 

Day 1

[The Live Broadcasting 24 hours] 

The number of Faitful Whatching people  : 14
All streaming broadcasting Duration : 7 hours
The accumulative number of Whatching people : 361

Recommandation : 5 

 

For the interim show, I've started my own experimental work of internet live streaming via my iPhone. It's the first time to do this because I've not that interested in this technology. But, its spatical distance between London and Seoul, it might be interesting to Korean. 'Africa TV' is the most famous live internet streaming service in Korea, especially for the young generation, which reflect their IT friendly bahavior. However, its world best quality in internet speed and service, most of Korean young generation are living in various 'virtual life'. For example, 'PC bang' means PC room for using internet like internet cafe here, serves more than 200Mbps which makes people to use any kinds of internet space such as, 3D internet game. They are living naturally in that kinds of 'cyber worlds' and lots of young people enjoy its virtual reality. However, because of this, internet live streaming is very famous for them as well. So for my experimental work on live streaming performance, 'The Live Broadcasting 24 hours', between London and Seoul, I choose 'africa TV' and I did my first day streaming almost all day long. It was very simple broadcasting that I put my iPhone sticked on tripod and just did streaming. I create my own live broadcasting station, named 'London Life' and waited for people.
This experimental work aims that how many Korean connect and how they are going to be interesting on it. On top of it, I want to explore how can I make harmony with my VJ performance as an improvisational visual language and how it works and communicates to the audience in London.

Right after creating live streaming 'room', 'London Life', some Korean people connected immediately and made a lot of chatting like below.

They seemed to be very interesting on 'place' because here is London quite far from them and especially speaking sound in English here still seemed to made them exciting. Many people said that 'is it real London?', 'is there the UK? really?','wow! English!'... and so on. Many of them wanted to understand English sound they were hearing and made question to me 'what I'm doing'. At last, they enjoyed to watch and talked each other about us and our studio space. For example, they made some comment on my peers while we were doing birthday party for Yuan. However, they made lots of comments and questions about my peers, studio space and even about the UK without any comments from me.

 I did it almost all day long even short journey with Pingping for comming back home as they asked me to show London street. At last, I talked to them and answer about what they want to know about London and the scene they were watching, which near to 20 people gave me active feedback and they wanted it to be continue. I realized that my anwers, active engagements, made them more active and kept them longer in my streaming room.

There is basic function for automatic recording and upload service what I streamd, but unfortunately I didn't get them because of unstable internet connection. So I had to check wi-fi condition and its stability. However, I made lots of re-connection to this APP because if I streamed through it over 1 hour, it seemed to be unstable because of wi-fi condition, and then it seemed to be changed into 3G connection which made the streaming service to be quit suddenly. Because of this sudden disconnection and force quitting of APP, I've got only one short recording of them. Moreover, I realized that I want to get whole chatting history and the problem of translation in English. If I use this service for my interim-show as an extra connection and live broadcasting, language will be main issue. However, some Koreans chatted in English after realizing its real situation in London.

 

 

Since the club manager changed her permission for this performance, I've been tried to cast one more place for 1 to 5 am party in Korea because the bar(pub) which is confirmed well is not considered for this time. So I made this proposal for casting another place and during writing down this proposal, I made several good idea for this matter.

First of all, I'm planning more specifically about 'Open space and Open communicative performance'.
It is the spreading out flyer into anywhere to unspecific people in Korea. For this plan, the flyer can be considered as one of the effective way to make this connection. For example, a lot of small and simple flyer designed for informing the connection ID and simple information about this performance and then it could be spread out anywhere in Seoul. Especially, the main street for club culture is the most interesting area for this plan, such as Hong Dae. Moreover, the internet advertisement via various way, such as facebook.

Secondly, I'm planning the 'The Live Broadcasting 24 Hours’ via internet or mobile video broadcasting technology, which is the idea is of the broadcasting without any limitation of duration and pre-setting situation about ‘everyday life’ in a space I’m living will be spread out to the world through the internet and expect to link stranger in anywhere in the virtual space. There will be no acting made or planned in advance and no scrip but improvisation, thus real life of live time and space. First of all, the iPhone can be strongly useful for this experimental. This experimental aim to exam how people to link and react to this simple or can be boring life broadcasting. Moreover, the improvisational feedback from its happening of this documental live broadcasting is one of the interesting area as well.
So I’ll create my personal channel in certain broadcasting system and will do it all day long for several days. It’ll also be considered as a advertisement way of the interim-show. Especially for this plan, there is perfect live video Korean broadcasting service called 'africa TV' in Korea. It's most famous free internet broadcasting service even for the mobile. The advanced IT technology in Korea has converyed lots of active virtual culture especially for the young generation. Many young people enjoy their live video broadcasing station with other unspecific people in the virturl space. Many of them, they broadcast the live capture of internet game and it's quite popular one. However, I will open my broadcasing station via this service with my iPhone as the plan.

 
However, this is the proposal and also it should be developed further especially for the time and place plan.

This is the draft graphic simulation for my performance. (from the proposal)

 

For the poster, Yuqqing designed this brilliant poster and we're all happy with this!
The branch of the tree represents our main theme 'Inter-Connection' beautifully. It's really simple and good design work for our show.

I'm planning the multi space connection with our performance space and I've found this amazing new Skype multi Video Call today.
http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/features/allfeatures/group-video-calls/

It's not for free but I'll defenitely do with this for multi connection to multi space or people in Korea.
Also, I've connected lots of frends and people can make a party in Korea. But I'm expecting another accidental happening or people who can connect accidentaly during the performance in anywhere in Korea.

I'm drawing briefly the space plan now and I'll upload it later.

The main plain is below :

 

1. Closed place and Open communicative performance

    I contacted a famous club in Korea but, the manger of this club changed her mind. So, at last, I can't make a party in that place. I think, it's because of the budget and some issues there.However, this idea is that the performance place can connect to some certain closed place in Korea, such as club, bar, somewhere can connect with the internet through Skype video call. Instead of the first plan for the club, I've connected a bar which can hold a party. There're 1 projector and middle sized good screen. (Check the photo below. The bar is located in busy part for night culture in Seoul.)

 

  2. Open place and Open communicative performance

    This idea is that someone on the performance space in London can contact to stranger who has smart phone or some gadget which can operate Skype video chatting in everywhere in Korea. Basically, this idea is like the combination between 'Flash Mop' and 'Video chatting technology' via the internet. I found this interesting performance called 'improv everywhere' which is the movement of certain artist group. (http://improveverywhere.com/) According to the introduction in the web site they 'based in New York City and prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents.'
 
 
 
  However, I think, the open place(space) connection in enywhere in Korea, especially, with anybody who wants to join with this performance accidentally might be more interesting. This accidental audience can carry a performance to different level and its improvisation can create in spontaneous participant which gives me a chance to make another visual language thorugh its harmony / disharmony and also is my core aim of this performance.

But, still I have to struggle with budget (money) and how can I make it more interestingly in the performance space. Moreover, I have to make it clear on technological issue and equipment as well. On top of that, the main challange is how can I make brilliant VJ performance using this new Visual-Sonic sources.
I have several DJ friend in Korea, Sydney and here London as well.
After last my first lab, I realized the collaborative improvisational performance with another artist especially for music or sonic source is obvioulsy important to my work. So I'm planning to search musician or artist who can join with me, especially who are attening in UAL. So I'll make advertisement for it throught out the internet(ie. Facebook) and visit other UAL College for this searching.
For me, Collaboration work with other people is also the core element of my performance which is the reason why I plan 'Guerilla VJing' in everywhere.

I want to exam how can I expand my VJ performance and also want to find a new possibility in me.

'Time Goes By' by youngshin

For the interim show I'm planning the 'London-Seoul Live Party Project'. It's processing now so I'm trying to contact with my friends and some clubs, bars. Yesterday, we all discussed about individual works and today, we all agree the main theme 'Interconnection'.
Planning the connection between audience and performer, outside and inside, space and space ...
I'll do VJ performance with music by guest DJ a friend of Thelma and every kinds of sound in that space. I want to focused on how I can make improvisational harmony between my visual images and sound around me and moreover, how the resonance between the two different spaces and spectators. I want to create joyful automospere during the interim show. Using skype in various way, such as laptop and smart phone is the one of the core idea on this project. If I can make connect to open space in Korea or elsewhere out of the UK, the connection between the two space and making VJ party with the spctators in that spaces will be exciting experience for me and moreover I want to explore how I can make the harmony and visual communication in the performance.

This week was the last week for site-specific workshop with Geraldine Philgrim. She gave us several group work for site-specific experiences and it was really nice.

The week before last week, she asked us to create site-specific performance expresses the emotions, Death, Dream, Crime and so on.
It was the Thelma's group work about 'Crime' and its photos.
Try to imagine the process and how it works.

They placed the scenes reversly and we, audience can imagine and follwed the 'memory of the Crime' they wanted to express.

On Thuesday, all colleagues brought the most important item and expained the story or the reason why it was picked up, which made me to think and study the co-relationship between object and gesture by performer. Geraldine explained the importance of this experience as a performer and an audience that an object can expand our perception beyond it through the performance. The moment we explored the gesture towards the object we brought, could inform us a lot more than explanation from the master of it. Moreover, she asked us to explain about the item for just 1 minutes without any alarm or watching the time, which gave us thinking about the perception of duration of time. We have to stop when we felt the 1min duration but as we all know, it was not easy. We don't know exactely how long is it. This experience gave me a hint to understand how we can 'create' time and its possibility.
Try to Imagine their each story and emotion in this photo.

However, on Thursday, Geraldine lately asked us to create group site-specific work, included 3 still images and 4 moving images, which used a ferry tale story and its distortion version we careated. We had to consider the co-relationship in between the scenes and also controlling the movement of audience would followed the performance. As a group, Chris, Katheryn, Yuqqing and me, we created the performance using the story, 'Hansel and Gretel'. I performed as a child who was reading the story and represents the childhood of audience. (I prepaired cute one-piece and apple, and moreover I changed my hair style looked like a child.) I leaded the audience with two simple actions openning and closing the book and stop motion. Geraldine gave us lot of important advices for making it more clearly as a site-specific performance. Yuqqing performed an Asian sexy young witch but at last she could performed only with her red nailed hand and Katheryn, Chris performed the naughty Hansel and Gretel. I've not got the pictures for our performance but our audience was leaded well and understood what was the story. The other gourp in 5, they performed the story 'The Emperor's New Clothes' and it was really nice.
I took a photo from the second group work by Pingping, Sohee and Yuqqing on that day.
Just imagine what does this image represent?

 

 

 

It is the one of the scene in 'Alice in Wonderland'
Do you agree?

I like it !

Creating scene and its impression is in very simple and various way.
I've learnt the power of spatial emotion and its expression in performance.

Thank you Geraldine and your encouraging comments on this workshop.

Object is a spcae.

This is the learning from my last lab.

I placed TV into the space and there were two profection towards the wall. When I turned off the TV and only turned on two projectors, the images covered the TV and at that time, for me, the TV seemed to be a space. It was quite interesting experience and I enjoyed it a lot.

The all of object around me, such as tree, TV, bench, table, pen and so on, can be considered as the space where I live in. I imagined a tree is not a object but a space where I live. If I reflected my perception onto the space, tree, then the tree would shipt to certain space where my life and time flows in it. I don't know how I can explore this and test this idea... maybe mapping projection?
I want to push me to define my work and combine all together.
After the last lab, I realized again that my work,VJ, is not about technology but more about 'life'.

Object is a spcae where I live, we live in.

I live in a tree and a bench in a park.

I live in a pen and table in a studio.

I live in a TV and newspaper in my room.

We live in our body in this world.

Next lab, I want to test it and moreover create my own way to explore this notion.

For me, it's good example for poetic Mapping projection work 'SCINTILLATION' by Xavier Chassaing 

<p>SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.</p>

 

Watching other's life is always interesting to me. Especially in a city space, life emerges its dynamics and paradoxically, its order/routine around me. But as always, everyday is unique and different. After London, whenever I felt somthing, I've taken shoot video and photo. These day, I'm thinking about life and space more. So I decided to watch the space around me more, so I also decided to walk more. From my flat, it takes about 50 minutes walk to College. However, last week, on my way home, it was really interesting to watch people into the window. Different to Korea, here London's old building has simple frame and opens its inner space.

Passing one by one. Passing one window by other.

One by one, when I passed the windows on the road, there were the people who lived their life. For me, it was like a film. The quick changed window passing gave me a chance to look into dynamics of life.

Life in Window.

I passed another window and I couldn't pass it. There were two guys and seemed to talk about interior or something planning work for empty office. Their face and emerging the yellow light in the moment of starting sunset gave me inspiration the word 'Life in Window'.

So I asked them about taking their picture and they said yes.

I'm not 100% happy with this photo. But I'll continue this work.

From last week, for our MA VLP course one great artist has been coming and working. She is Geraldine Philgrim who is a director, designer, installation artist and also the artistic director of Corridor created by her in 2000 to create site-specific events often working in collaboration with various people and community. (http://www.geraldinepilgrim.com) According her website, her site-specific art work mainly focuses on installation and performances in unusual building and landscapes conveys inspiration and narrative to her by its architectural atmosphere.

Hotel(2000) / photo from www.geraldinepilgrim.com

Deep end(2005) / photo from www.geraldinepilgrim.com

Star Dust (2005) / photo from www.geraldinepilgrim.com

Forgotten(2010_11) / photo from www.geraldinepilgrim.com

What is ‘site-specific’ art?
According to Kaye.N, ‘‘site-specificity’ is linked to the incursion of ‘surrounding’ space, ‘literal’ space or ‘real’ space into the viewer’s experience of the artwork.’ (pp.25)

'Tilted Arc' Richard Serra

'Forty Years' Richard Serra

For me, ‘space’ is shaped by perception of us and moreover is the ‘reflection’ of our conscious and unconscious covering the space. Therefore, although we’re seeing and being in the same space and time, I strongly believe that the ‘space’ is definitely different to the ‘space’ of each other.
What is the ‘real’ space?
(I want to explore further more about the definition of space, such as ‘real’ or ‘literal’ space.)
However, although we all have same system of physical eyes and its physical processing of ‘seeing’ through our brain, we all see and experience a space individually. Is it possible to see the ‘real’ space? I think, here is the interesting point of ‘site-specific’ art.

Finding emotion in certain space and place your expression.

Especially, Geraldine emphasized the reading, finding context and creating site-specific performance in especially architectural geographic place.
She gave us two kinds of creating site-specific performance.
One was individual and other was group work.

It might be not exact same words from her but I understood her mission like below :
‘Find a space in this campus and read the emotion of it and then express and place the emotion in there’

It was quite simple but challenging mission. For me, the space for cigarette place where is under big tree with a big trunk, a wood bench was interesting to me. The space is near the main entrance where I’ve passed through everyday, but the spot for cigarette has not been a place for me because I’m not a smoker. When I jumped into the space and looked up the trees and sky, suddenly I felt loneliness so I sat on a big trunk not a bench towards the main street and looked up the ramification of branches into the sky. It was really poetic moment made me loneliness and the power of peace in the same time. I tried to focus into the emotion and let it flow freely in the space. Especially, she asked us the certain place for the ‘position’ of audience. So, I had to think about the place for my audience and finally decided the place out of the black steel-bars fence. I imagined that the blocking of eye sight caused by the black steel-bars fence might be more interesting viewpoint for my audience and it also might represent my wishing to be alone and recover by myself. Although I felt the emotion ‘loneliness’, also I wanted to express my own ‘peaceful loneliness’ and its paradoxical feeling about wanting to be ‘alone’. Surprisingly, the audience-peers and Geraldine- expressed my emotion, ‘loneliness’ during talking together and discussion about my performance and especially, Geraldine picked up my paradoxical  willing which can be described like this sentence : ‘I can deal with this, I can do it by myself’.

The above photo by James Thomas

One by one, we explored our individual site-specific experimental performance.

I forget the exact word peer's emotion in word but it's true that we all explained for other's site-specific performance well and feel together. Moreover, Geraldine added and picked up the emotion very cleary and explained how it works with the context of the spcae in brilliant way.

Capturing time and the emotion in the moment.

pingping 'Isolated hope'

Telma 'freedom'

James 'solicitude'

Soohee 'Curious'

Katheryn 'Naughty and playfulness/childhood'

Yuan - 'shock'

Yuqqing 'homeless'

 

Group work

 

Capturing time and moment is always interesting work for me. Everytime we are flowing with time and space, thus 'life'. Site-specific performance or event evolve us hidden emotion/context in a place and makes resonance with its audience in visible and invisible way. When I saw Thelma's performance, I recalled the photo series by David Lachapelle. He is famous for his colourful surealistic photo in the field of fashion, advertising and fine art. His work probably is different to this experimenal exercise on site-specific performance. But, in many way of his using space and placing people and object creates dynamic human-nature's emotion in hillarious way. In many way, his work is more like eye candy and also the surealism in his work gives us new spatial dynamic experience in his work.

I love capturing time, thus taking photo, in natural naive way. LIfe is full of 'improvisational happening' around us. This 'happening' can be considered as a 'performance' accoring to the definition in terms of 'being' and 'doing being'. On top of it, time and space is the container of this 'improvisational happening' , thus 'life'. And we can contain and keep this 'time and space' in many way, such as video, photo. Reading context the hidden emotion and capturing the life around me has been always interesting work. I feel like in a movie of my life. I captured some moment gave me short flashing inspiration during our site-specific work.

Waiting our individual watching for Soohee's performance

Katheryn told me something

Imainge putting me into there

 

 

Basic Idea

  Cover the space with projecting visual-sound.
  Compare between the space light-on and off.
  Generating improvisational sonic performance through lap-top base VJ softwares and equpments.
  Real-time distort and control the visual projecting in real-time.
  Share the VJing experience with the audience. (Let them control and doing VJ by themselves.)
 

Test,

   1. The sonic or music source bring certain visualization?

   2. How similar or different my images and the audience visualization thorugh the visual-sound performance.

   3. How much are the visual and sound match or make harmony each other?

   4. The visul-sound performance based on my personal filming is going to evoke something different or same to the audience?

   5. How many audience will come to the space after attatching a paper writing advertisement.

   6. Generating sonic source via isadora and laptop sound input system without any base sonic source.

   7. Share the VJing experience to the audience.

 

Day 1. 06.02.12 Mon

   Analyzing the lab experiment.

 

Day 2. 07.02.12 Tues

  Analyzing the lab experiment.

 

Day 3. 08.02.12 Wed

 Plan and simulate equpments and system setting for lab.
    - 4 projectors
    - good quality speaker set
    - video mixer
    - 2 laptop (Resolume, isadora)
    - camera
    - TV
    - DVD player (just in case)

Check the two space and where is going to be better for my lab.
    - I checked Portakable A&B, but it was locked so I couldn't check inside.
    - chedcked TV studio is cleaned and it looks nice but it's isolated.

Editing my filming source for visual performance
   - main theme is the tree branch images and my London street filming.

 
Day 4. 08.02.13 Thur

Checked the space Portakabin A&B and it was different building I was informed yesterday, so at last I changed again to do my lab in the TV studio as I planed before.
   - rent all equipments from AV as I planed
    

[Plan A]

[Plan B]

[Final plan]

    - testing the planA and B
     (At last, in Plan A, there are video mixer which makes poor projection quality.
      Plan B is not possible because AV room dosen't have adapter for translation the signal from DVI to VGA)

So I changed the plan for projection and performance.
   - 2 projectors
   - 1 TV
   - 2 laptops
   - speaker
   - camera

Generating improvisational sonic source through isadora.
At last, so far I can't well on isasora for generating sonic source so I need some sonic source and then I have to make some patch for distortion and create improvisational 'chace'. I want some simple spacial sound so I picked some source of 'planet sound' and played with isadora.

The interesting function using mouse position makes interesting distortion of audio sorce.

[simple patch for sound]

[simple patch for visul play 1]

[patch for making random play using mouse watcher for visual source]

 

 

 

 

 

Art is, now, mainly a form of thinking.
-Susan Sontag-

In this short, simple quotation includes vast and clear notion of the engagement pure phycological relationship between art and artist, moreover its radical notion of ' trasnparency' which is her core theme in her book 'Against interpretation' towards art. She claimed that art should be experienced as an art itself which is apparently different to the notion of aestheticism which is about 'art for art'. As a 'form' of performance art, 'VJ' performance can be consider as a 'form of thinking', thus art. Then, how can we consider 'VJ performance' as a form of 'thinking'? 
Although its functional birth of extreme entertaining purpose, its flexibility which is evidently conceived by video art, especially, I belive that it is obviously from the notion of 'intermedia' one of the prominent movement of Fluxus art. This notion has dynamically conveyed various way, especially digital and technological one, for drawing conceptual mainbody in performance art. The rapture of real-time physical performing which is consisted of finger control through various digital / analog technological equpments reflects the spiritual impression at the moment by sonic and spacial inspiration.
I want to explore how to expand and explore the new form of  'VJ' performance with keeping its distinct notion.
So, for this, My question is 'how can I push the boundary of 'VJ' performance to the avant-garde performance art with keeping its distinct way of creating and engaging with space and spectators'.
For VJ performance, it's basic essential condition stated below.

 1.  Main inspiration - Music / DJ
     This is always essential main engine for me as a VJ. However, I'll exam to generate sonic source using some software, such as isadora, and supplied this sonic source into my experiment  by myself in real-time. Hopefully, I want to meet and perform together with improvisational sonic performance by spontaneous participant. For this condition, I'll attatched the invitation in college. Moreover, I hope to meet an improvisational sonic performer or musician who can generate collaboration in improvisational way for the further study considering as a 'guerilla' outdoor VJ perfirmance in anywhere London. There is considerable posibility which can open the way for approaching to the core question about the real meaning and the root of VJ performance.

 2. audience who is spontaneous for their rapture of time
Not only invite audience but also ask them to do or be during my performance. I want to share my 'performance' with other artist. Not as an audience but as an artist, the participation can be freely open and its sponteneous interference will create improvisational performance. They can dance, walk, talk, draw and even control my all equpment for generating visual-sound.

 

The aim of this experimental is 'sharing inspiration' through visual-sound improvisational performance strongly based on the form of VJ performance.

I will stay certain space and doing/being with VJ performance. I want to cover the hole space with my visual projection and sound. I'll try to generate real-time visual mixing based on my filming video after London and sound via isadora which can generate and distort the sound of the space or sonic source which can be supplied by audience.

 

Whenever improvisation is a performative strategy in ritual, it places ritual squarely within the domain of play. It is indeed the playing, the improvising, that engagers people, drawing them into the action, constructing their relationships, thereby generating multiple and simultaneous discourses always surging between harmony/disharmony, order/disorder, integration/opposition, and so on.
- Drewal, M.T-

Polka-dot by Yayoi Kusama

In contemporary visual and performative art, the place and time transform a source of multiseneory experience. Especially, in this multisensory performance, not only eye and ear but also smell and touch of audience are addressed synaesthetic rapture. In full of sound and visual moving images shape the space indivisual, conceptual, even often spiritual one. This performance can be seen as an intimate way both to study and expose the role of hypermedia in art. Moreover, chance or improvisational notion can take many forms and push the boundary of eathesia. Strongly based on video art, VJ is a form of visual performer who carrys multisensory improvisational performance. Differently to visual or video installation, VJ is considered as a medium of a performance especially because of its notion of improvisational perform. Although VJ normally prepairs lots of visual motion graohical sources, this improvisational mixing performance via complex digital equipments and technologies which convey powerfully generate an engine of real-time improvisational performance. There are the 'chance' and 'happening' at that very moment of movement of fingers on controller, which expose its flexible power of visual performance. This physical movement of controll is apparently comes from multi-sensory perception of the main body, VJ. 

Where does this come from?

It's not a simple question about taste or skill but about personal spiritual engagement with various roots of physical and psychological relationship with self, thus ego. The past experiences and the mixture about personal psycological engagement is the answer of the question above. The  According to the book Out of Actions between performance and the object 1949-1979, it's engross in 'enigma' of art, especially in modern art period. In this modern period, especially of the avant-garde, the artist endavor to evacuate from the critical situation in between the object and its container and moreover the danger of stagnation. The object should be enigmatic and continue to be opened to interpretation. According the definition of the performative, multi-dimensional component as "enigma" by Vilem Flusser a “puzzle that can be solved through decryption.” On top of this its subjective “enigma” should be considered as a reaction of art for communication ways, into which it has been interwoven by the collective and thereby become objectified. Moreover, he said “it is not the objective of an analysis of the gesture of painting to do away with the problem of painting itself. It is, rather, far more the desire to delve deeper into the enigma of painting in order to experience it ever more richly.”  For him the gesture - performance art- or the gestural is “man’s active presence in the world,” an express for free, conscious and analytical action. This notion is radically assigned to 'the dynamics of a spiritual search'.

 

Mat Light(Green, Red, Blue), 1997 by Angela Bulloch

 

The existent and its openess, the objective and communicative 'enigma' from the multi-dimensional consciousness is the core of mordern conceptual art. I consider this 'enigma' as the 'liminality'. According to the book 'The Transformative Power of Performance', the term of liminality is stated below.

pp174

'.. the aesthetic experience enabled by performances can primarily be described as a liminal experience, capable of transforming the experienceing subject. Evidently, this type of aesthetic experience is of pivotal importance to the aesthetics of the performative as it captures the nature of performance as event.'

'The primal term liminality that is used here originated neither in art theory nor philosophical aesthetis but in ritual studies.' In the study of The Rites of Passage(1909) by van Gennep, he 'complied a vast array of ethnological material demonstrating that rituals are linked to liminal and transitional experiences loaded with the highest measure of symbolic meaning.'

Believe by Gary Hill

 

Art is, now, mainly a form of thinking.

-Susan Sontag-

In this short, simple quotation includes vast and clear notion of the engagement pure phycological relationship between art and artist, moreover its radical notion of trasnparency which is her core theme in her book 'Against interpretation' towards art. She clamed that art should be experienced as an art itself which is apparently different to the notion of aestheticism which is about 'art for art'. I've just start read the book, 'Against interpretation' and want understand her notion.

I want to keep openning my instint on the visual-sound corss sensor and also keep the 'transparency' of my performance for their subjective 'enigma' and its communication.

Now, I'm challanging the expansion of VJ performance as a personal conceptual experience and the main source of this, visual sources mainly is consisted of video film of mime, put it as the 'object'. Moreover, I want to my multi-sensory memory and its fragments spread out into a space and exam how can the space be re-shaped via my visual-sound performance.

It's going to be, potentially, dangeous for the origin notion of VJ. Moreover, as a VJ, it's essential that the existence of inspiration, thus music or sonic performance, is radical. The transporting and cross-engaing between VJ performance and  traditional performance is challange too. I don't have a DJ, dancing people and clubland. However, the core experimental lies on its 'improvisation' and its 'enigma' with audience. I've always wanted to share the experience of its rapture from real-time engagement with space and audience moreover, its multi-sensory creation via VJ performance in tiny moment.

Photo from the book Faulkner,M (2006) VJ : audio-visual art + VJ culture, London, Laurence King.

"How do I live?"

It's been over 2 weeks after the previous posting and my personal tutorial with course director. I have had break time for my self and been focused on deep inside. It's general, in some ways it could be boring, question. "What are you doing?".

When I decided to come and study in London, I wanted to be crack my persona and put me into the chaos of myself and my work. Oneday in my studio, I felt that it was not my work I always had expected and started to confuse on my work, VJ ; whatever it was called. I became a stage visual director especially for making motion picture for a stage musical performance such as concert, music festival, ballet, TV show and so on. I started my work as a club VJ but its flexibility made me to explore various area of visual performance. I just followed my instinct direction towards enigma of sonic-visual fantagy. Magically, when I heard some sound or music, some visual images just popped up and made me to create visual work strongly based on video art. A number of collaboration performance with various artist not only pop music star but also underground artists who inform me lot of art area and compelled me into its magical planet.

However, I was not an aritst.

I've never though me as an artist, but VJ.

For me, VJ is only one extreme identificaiton which I stand strongly in any field. I'm freed in VJ. I became anything I wanted to be. Normally, I love recording all kinds of visual images around my everyday life using camera. It naturally includes my own perceptual eye and becomes my own non-verbal language. However, I want to explore my deep inside language and expand it through certain exam ; studying in somewhere I didn't used to live.

Yes,I do want to know who am I, what am I.

 

As a visual director, VJ, I normally worked for other artist work, which means my visual performance used to be part of it not for main body. Manytimes my visual performance was some sort of 'stage back decoration' for their main performance. However, its powerful presentation, my visual performance conveyed and created maximum synergy effect on a performance. The only one thing I was able to endure the harshness of making visual performance was the exclamations or some interjection sound by the audience. It is only one reason I continue the work.

However, how do I live?

Why I stopped to create something , whatever it is?

[Art work by Rebecca Cairns]

I felt extreme enervation on what I'm doing now. I've just started to put me into chaotic exploration on my work or art, whatever.

About a week ago, I asked one of my friend in Korea to download and give me a new film by Kim ki duk. It was his documentary film after his personal shocking on his work. He's not made a film for over 3 years and it was the first documentary film by himself. It was shocked. He asked himself the reason why he abandoned him by himself and what is the meaning of 'movie' and 'life' for him.

[Film capture of 'arirang' by Kim ki duk]

For 3 years, he lived alone in an isaolated place and was struggling with himself. Kim ki duk is one of the famous Korean film director received best director awards at two different film festivals ; Berlin International Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. His own film language moved many western people to understand Korean art film ever before. But suddenly, he appeared film market in Korea and there were lots of news about him. At last, he's come back with his autographic film. Everything was made by him, camera, editing, acting and so on. He confessed his own painful inside to himself and at last he played himself.

[Film capture of 'arirang' by Kim ki duk]

I was shocked.

I was attacted from his confession.

The most important thing is 'authenticity' on myself and my work. I'm always aware of 'authenticity'. During tutorial, Douglaa, my course director, encouraged me to go within small step. I understand what he was talking. I'll let me free to explore my own work whatever it is, in my own step and time. Continuous asking and finding the answer is the key of this time.

[Film capture of 'arirang' by Kim ki duk]