Category: 2023

• Very different medium(?) from what we’ve explored so far
• “Slow dance with me”
• Audience interaction
• “Using art to submerge the system to tell a totally different story”
• The audience is the protagonist
• Privilege
• “You don’t do it. I’ll do it for you because you are not in the position to do it. I can get out.”
• Not put himself in the center too much

In this chapter, I found it intriguing how an artist’s fears of acceptance and approval can have a significant impact on their trust in their own abilities and work. Surprisingly, this phenomenon goes beyond the art world and is something that (I think) all of us experience in society. It seems to be part of our human nature to seek validation from others.

One point discussed in this chapter resonated with me—the idea that an artist’s creations may initially go unnoticed, only to gain widespread recognition many years later. This made me think about the bandwagon effect. However, in this case, it’s the audience who seeks acceptance and approval, not for their own work, but for their interpretations of the artist’s creations (approval from one another). However, I believe that this delayed acceptance and appreciation of art can’t be solely attributed to the bandwagon effect. Personally, I think that some people may not fully grasp the depth and meaning of art when it is first presented to them. It is only over time, with increased exposure and familiarity, that they begin to find personal significance and meaning in the artwork. This could be another reason why art often captures public attention years after its initial introduction.

Art usually emerges in a way that leaves no space for others. Critisisim is part of this fear, which is something understadable, as the art word is demanding in what they expect from artists. Our need of community creates a fear of being “singled” out. For the artists,this translates to their art not being perceived as art, and instead it is defined as craft. Again, I personally have a lot of problems with the concept of craft, because it looks down on something that is valuable because of arbitrary standards. The need of approval gives a big amount of power to the audience.

I expected to see Ming Poon’s choreography projects, but his work went beyond dance and studios.  He involved the audience in all his different types of work and depended on their participation.

I liked that he also incorporated political events in his work, such as “June 4th”

I was fascinated by his show with a colleague where they let the audience alter and interpret the scene as they wished. He seemed to be a very open-minded person who enjoyed interaction.

Slow dance… ok(?

He clearly is a dancer and not a designer, its a no for yellow background, but we will allow it this time

I like the introductions, really humanising from his side

Articulate the practice to clear

Choreography

Artistic research (4 years)

Applied choreography

Collaborative performances: audience

Test audience

Self explanatory by design

Living in Berlin is lonely, Connexxion w strangers, inspired

Exotic animal- exotic ice poc

Western queerness Nan Dan //

Censorship, undressing room, interesting, no documentation

The audience are performers

Contexto: si hay

He sees choreographies everywhere

Art is political

2 oder 3 Tiger (One or several Tigers by Ho Tzu Nyen)

Is not spectacularity only

Demythification of the artist, artist is no genius

Privileges, no blaming

Break :))))

Ethnographic methods – psychology major, intersection of knowledge

Test shows

Ethics :)))

He miswrote the name of the autor Istaban (Esteban)

Be Weed – queer diasporic future ⇒ really nice idea

The space is design to support the performance

Audience is intelligent (opposite of oval)

Collaboration (not participation)

Preparation for all scenarios

A lot of self awareness

Am I the right person to do this project?

Chapter 4 discusses the insecurities and concerns artists face when referring to judgment and living up to expectations. The main idea talks about how fear of judgment from others can hinder the creative process, growth, and expression.

One of the most relatable aspects discussed is the fear of being misunderstood or misinterpreted. When you create something, we hope that others can connect with it, whether they find it interesting, funny, or relatable. But as we create, we fear others’ judgment of it and it prevents us from releasing our full potential. Personally, when I make something new, I always think of what other people are going to think of it. This is a bad habit that people and artists tend to have, as it can work against them.

Additionally, the authors encourage artists to detach their self-worth from external judgments and focus instead on their personal growth and development.

Artists also find themselves comparing their work and competing with others, this can stifle originality. It adds the question of, can I be better? Why does my work look like this? And again, what will others think of mine in comparison to that? The authors, David and Orland, remind us that there will always be someone more talented or successful, but that our own artistic voice is valuable and deserving of exploration.

By: Haya & Nia

For our final presentation/exhibition, we have decided to create a magazine called “A Dummies Guide to J-term in Berlin”. In our magazine, we are going to include our events in Berlin, for instance, pictures we have taken around to showcase our full experience. Berlin is a very lively city and we wanted to show our experience as students and what we have seen around.

Additionally, we intend to show our different making assignments along with our classmate’s assignments (if possible). I (Haya) thought it would be nice if we could include a few of everyone’s assignments and developments over the past 3 weeks, but we are still in the process of developing the ideas in the magazine and figuring out what works before settling on a specific notion to go forward with the magazine. It would be nice for our magazine to revolve around the whole notion of creating and try to incorporate a sense of the creativity that we can find in the exhibition. While doing so, we are going to show our development with creativity and different ideas to spark it such as lateral thinking and more.

We are thinking of including different sections such as: “Creating”, day in the Life, artwork, graffiti, etc. We would like to develop our magazine and create an almost real-life magazine but include our own unique touch to it. Additionally, we may add more sections to the magazine as we go along and see what sparks our creativity.

Furthermore, regarding materials, we have decided to print out one physical copy of our magazine and create a link or QR code with the website version. We can have this QR code set on our table/booth and print out pictures with the code for people to scan and read the magazine as they take a break or roam around the exhibition.

Lastly, regarding who did what, we are both working together most of the time to brainstorm ideas and jot them down to create rough ideas and drafts. We haven’t really split up the work and are figuring most of it out together.

• I enjoyed this class visit a lot as it was different than the others we have had so far
• I initially thought we were going to see Ming Poon’s different projects in choreography, but his work was so much deeper than just dance and studios
• All of his different types of work include audience interaction and he relies on it greatly
• Some of his interactive works such as “Slow Dance with Me” is designed in a specific way to allow the audience to interact and essentially create his own show
• He found it important to interpret political events in his work such as “June 4^th”
• “This is the first time I have not been seen as an object, but a person”
• His show with a colleague where they allowed the audience to change and interpret the scene into whatever way they liked was very intriguing to me
• He is overall a very open-minded and down to earth person that enjoys interaction

1. His art emphasizes decolonization, which aims to move away from Western-centric narratives, deconstructing stereotypes and addressing imbalances between different cultures.
2. He uses Choreography by organizing bodies in both time and space, creating a harmonious composition.
3. Art, including dance, is not solely dependent on the artist’s technical skill but also on its impact and the underlying meaning it conveys. This connects with the philosophy in East Asian culture, emphasizing the concepts of “purpose” and “usefulness.”
4. Solidarity and togetherness play an important role, emphasizing that everyone is in this together. He emphasized that it is crucial to strive for understanding, recognize one’s privileges and biases, and work collaboratively.
5. Artists should recognize their role as channels rather than relying solely on their individual talents. It is also essential for artists to question whether they are the right people to address certain topics.

Our group focuses on one of the three possible plans (will be settled tomorrow). The third one is most interesting and the first one is the easiest in terms of implementation.

1. Digital Pacman Project

i) Materials Needed

Paper, Speakers, LEDs

ii) Description

 – Simple sound/light as beacon of the QRs

 – User scans QR code posted on the walls, plays a pacman game, and  get to see our assignments and movies showing our creative projects and process

 – Pacman game with Shahram as the pacman and the professor as the “monster”

2. Scavenger Hunt

i) Materials Needed

Paper, Speakers, LEDs, Beamers

ii) Description

 – Simple sound/light as beacon of the clues

 – The clues are tied to the creative process of that assignment. (e.g. Random Stimulation: people + mouth = entrance)

 – User find models/posters of our assignments using the clues 

 – For each assignment, a part of the final code is given

 – The clues are set along the path the users are likely to move, leading to the tower

 – The final summarizing video (animation on lateral thinking) is set on the tower where user input his or her unique code, use a beamer to project it

3. “Metta” Sound + Vision Meditation Dome

i) Materials Needed

Beamer, Speakers (Or we are thinking of using device speakers as we want our sound to blend in with the ambience)

ii) Description

 – Metta is a Buddhist term of loving-kindness. Embrace your surroundings and your creative, childlike thoughts that comes randomly and make sense of it.

 – Engages the Audience, a guide of meditation is needed (e.g. Sid). Meditation is a core part of our class and stimulus to our creative process.

 – It will be best if the whole tower space can be used as the dome

 – Background Music will be AI-generated combining Oud / Arab music and Sufi Music. Some of our assignments are AI-generated and we believe that they can be part of our creative processes as well. It can also incorporate Sid’s Assignment 2, on the sounds of silence

 – Beamers are used to project effects on the surrounding walls and tower dome

 – The meditation engages audience to take part in our creative process. 

 – Beamer effects shows elements from assignments (e.g. apple fairies flying, Shahram’s “pursuit of happiness”), readings (e.g. reversal process = moon falling to the earth…; ), explicit notifications of creative strategies (e.g. words)

 – Beamer effects can also show the creative processes introduced through a way similar to my assignment 2 (land of memories), as our creative processes are our memories for the past few weeks and are likely to become long-term.

 – We should give people apples after each session