We agree with the students from Warwick, in that examining Aristotle's concept of anagnorisis (discover) is perhaps too limiting. Transition is about the in between and moving from one state to another and no longer has to be limited to movement between polarities and extremes.
We want to consider the concept of peripety, or reversal of fates, that Aristotle posed to go hand in hand with anagnorisis. Aristotle discussed 'good' tragedies having BOTH anagnorisis and peripety, for both must be present in order for a tragic hero to become a "hero".
But many Aristotelian ideas have gone through "transitons" over time. Take catharsis, in the Brechtian sense. Is it a transition or is it a final state?
We also found that what is really beatiful about transition is it's liminality. Directors and choreographers work endlessly to create effortless and smooth transitions. What makes a performative transition smooth, is precisely the quality that makes us not notice. The more invisible and liminal a transition becomes, the more it is appreciated.
Showing posts with label Response. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Response. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tampere Group B Response for Warrick B (Medium)
This is what Amsterdam challenged us
Perhaps this hypothetical performance was recorded for archival purposes, now the digital media (a derivative of medium) is the medium for a new host of spectators to receive the performance.
http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=5330092731&oid=20958116280
According to Plato words medium will make the performance a copy of copy, thus less than ideal and loses its original value. Walter Benjamin says that in this way it loses its ''aura". The digital media archive, while perhaps currently the best archival method for performance available, still does not do justice to capturing the initial "aura" of the live performance.
Perhaps this hypothetical performance was recorded for archival purposes, now the digital media (a derivative of medium) is the medium for a new host of spectators to receive the performance.
http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/video/video.php?v=5330092731&oid=20958116280
According to Plato words medium will make the performance a copy of copy, thus less than ideal and loses its original value. Walter Benjamin says that in this way it loses its ''aura". The digital media archive, while perhaps currently the best archival method for performance available, still does not do justice to capturing the initial "aura" of the live performance.
WAR Group B RESPONSE E-dentity for AMS Group B
Keyword: ‘E-dentity’ (Keith)
DEFINITION (inc. source):
‘E-dentity’, online identity, and digital identity were not found in any reputable dictionaries I consulted. These are the definitions I found that address the term I’m calling ‘e-dentity’
Digital identity - The electronic representation of a real-world entity. The term is usually taken to mean the online equivalent of an individual human being, which participates in electronic transactions on behalf of the person in question. However, a broader definition also assigns digital identities to organizations, companies, and even individual electronic devices.
Digital identity refers to the aspect of digital technology that is concerned with the mediation of people's experience of their own identity and the identity of other people and things. Digital identity also has another common usage as the digital representation of a set of claims made by one digital subject about itself or another digital subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_identity
Online identity is a social identity that network users establish in online communities. Although some people prefer to use their real names online, most Internet users prefer to identify themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information.
In some online contexts, including Internet forums, MUDs, instant messaging, and massively multiplayer online games, users can represent themselves visually by choosing an avatar, an icon-sized graphic image. As other users interact with an established online identity, it acquires a reputation, which enables them to decide whether the identity is worthy of trust.
Here is the challenge of E-identity!
Say we were to consider E-identity an externalization of subjectivity. As the ultimate goal of one's subjectivity is performativity, affecting change and action and fulfillments of real life needs and desires... to what extent can the Nietzschean ideal of Overman ('Uber mensch') be fulfilled through the existence of E-identity, 'living' in the (e)-world devoid of morals of its own?
What happens when the E-identity blurs with the real world?
Is E-identity a performance? According to Schechner, performances are recognized as having beginnings, middles and endings. Where does the performance of E-identity begin and end?
What are its boundaries?
Our response:
We think that the (e)-world is capable of fulfilling the ideal of Overman, however, achieving this ideal is not a result of an environment that is void of morals. Your point about the absence of morals doesn’t strike us as an accurate description of the (e)-world. While it may differ from the ‘real world,’ virtual reality is firstly, reflective or informed by the real world. In addition, it generates its own restrictive elements: conventions, codes of behavior, etc., which structure both the emergence of one’s E-dentity and the manner in which that extension of the self is performed.
Your third challenge seems to indicate that digital identity is not one of infinite possibilites after all because there are clear boundaries in the sense that, if we were to see it as a performance, it begins with you logging on, registering an account perhaps and choosing what to display, and ends when you log off. There is also the option of ending the performance by deleting said identity and editing it (costumes, props, characters).
We find it a lot more difficult to respond to your second challenge because, really, a number of things could happen when the boundary between the two worlds is blurred. There might be individuals who are so immersed in their E-dentities and want to retreat from the ‘real world,’ but we feel that the conditions that exist in the ‘real world’ are not completely escapable e.g. physical need for sustenance, sleep, technology failing you, etc.
DEFINITION (inc. source):
‘E-dentity’, online identity, and digital identity were not found in any reputable dictionaries I consulted. These are the definitions I found that address the term I’m calling ‘e-dentity’
Digital identity - The electronic representation of a real-world entity. The term is usually taken to mean the online equivalent of an individual human being, which participates in electronic transactions on behalf of the person in question. However, a broader definition also assigns digital identities to organizations, companies, and even individual electronic devices.
Digital identity refers to the aspect of digital technology that is concerned with the mediation of people's experience of their own identity and the identity of other people and things. Digital identity also has another common usage as the digital representation of a set of claims made by one digital subject about itself or another digital subject. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_identity
Online identity is a social identity that network users establish in online communities. Although some people prefer to use their real names online, most Internet users prefer to identify themselves by means of pseudonyms, which reveal varying amounts of personally identifiable information.
In some online contexts, including Internet forums, MUDs, instant messaging, and massively multiplayer online games, users can represent themselves visually by choosing an avatar, an icon-sized graphic image. As other users interact with an established online identity, it acquires a reputation, which enables them to decide whether the identity is worthy of trust.
Here is the challenge of E-identity!
Say we were to consider E-identity an externalization of subjectivity. As the ultimate goal of one's subjectivity is performativity, affecting change and action and fulfillments of real life needs and desires... to what extent can the Nietzschean ideal of Overman ('Uber mensch') be fulfilled through the existence of E-identity, 'living' in the (e)-world devoid of morals of its own?
What happens when the E-identity blurs with the real world?
Is E-identity a performance? According to Schechner, performances are recognized as having beginnings, middles and endings. Where does the performance of E-identity begin and end?
What are its boundaries?
Our response:
We think that the (e)-world is capable of fulfilling the ideal of Overman, however, achieving this ideal is not a result of an environment that is void of morals. Your point about the absence of morals doesn’t strike us as an accurate description of the (e)-world. While it may differ from the ‘real world,’ virtual reality is firstly, reflective or informed by the real world. In addition, it generates its own restrictive elements: conventions, codes of behavior, etc., which structure both the emergence of one’s E-dentity and the manner in which that extension of the self is performed.
Your third challenge seems to indicate that digital identity is not one of infinite possibilites after all because there are clear boundaries in the sense that, if we were to see it as a performance, it begins with you logging on, registering an account perhaps and choosing what to display, and ends when you log off. There is also the option of ending the performance by deleting said identity and editing it (costumes, props, characters).
We find it a lot more difficult to respond to your second challenge because, really, a number of things could happen when the boundary between the two worlds is blurred. There might be individuals who are so immersed in their E-dentities and want to retreat from the ‘real world,’ but we feel that the conditions that exist in the ‘real world’ are not completely escapable e.g. physical need for sustenance, sleep, technology failing you, etc.
TAM Group C Ua Kristina Jocelyn RESPONSE [Flow] for WAR Group C
Challenge [FLOW] from AMS Group C:
"We feel that in contemporary times disruption is a value (esthetic, academic, performative) which is equally valid . . . How is this reflected in contemporary theatre and other arts? Now we see disruptions in traditional narrative, design and other dramatic elements as important esthetic modus."
This is an extremely valid point, which brings to our minds the continuing tensions regarding the status of graffiti as an art among parties of differing opinions. Several years ago, it was decided that a wall on which graffiti had been officially allowed should be painted over. Here is a link to a report on the incident: http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20001031IE18
We understand that just several weeks ago, a similar incident happened, which shows the continuing negotiations, or disruptions, of the "flow" of what is considered "art".
"We feel that in contemporary times disruption is a value (esthetic, academic, performative) which is equally valid . . . How is this reflected in contemporary theatre and other arts? Now we see disruptions in traditional narrative, design and other dramatic elements as important esthetic modus."
This is an extremely valid point, which brings to our minds the continuing tensions regarding the status of graffiti as an art among parties of differing opinions. Several years ago, it was decided that a wall on which graffiti had been officially allowed should be painted over. Here is a link to a report on the incident: http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20001031IE18
We understand that just several weeks ago, a similar incident happened, which shows the continuing negotiations, or disruptions, of the "flow" of what is considered "art".
Helsinki Group C - Tory, Ua, Hetta: Combined Response to Amsterdam Keywords 'Falhanco' and 'Ta-Da'.
We are intrigued by how 'Falhanco' and 'Ta-Da' as keywords, overlap in so many more ways than simply being listed next to each other on the blog.
Falhanco: "the act or effect of failing...mistake, something done wrongly that should not have been done."
Ta-Da: "exclamation; an imitation of a fanfare, used typically to call attention to an impressive entrance or a dramatic announcement...embrace and celebrate your mistakes, and then move on...the healing power of humour."
It is in the space between these two terms, where we find insight into the fascinating struggle of the positive versus the negative outlook of error and failure. For us, these words begged the question, are there some mistakes that have been made, that we simply can never entirely embrace and move on from? Can humour heal all wounds?
If we were to push the boundaries of the word 'falhanco', and look to some of the greatest examples of when humanity perhaps, failed itself, what would it look like juxtaposed with images of fanfare, celebration, and good old fashioned 'clowning around'?
Have we been, or are we ever able to make light of issues and incidents that have affected and devastated us transnationally? Even if one culture or sub-culture may eventually deem subject matter 'safe' for humourous reflection, is this mutual with all parties involved? In cases wherein one culture has been invaded or dominated by another, what strategies can the dominated culture use to first heal themselves, and then use humour to subvert the power of their dominators?
From the point of view of the dominator: is it ever appropriate or are there any frames wherein it is possible to joke about these scenarios?
The following images imbue the term 'clowning around' with different, and rather provactative shades of meaning, drawing parallels between the spectacle of circus, and the specatacle of destruction and disgust.
Falhanco: "the act or effect of failing...mistake, something done wrongly that should not have been done."
Ta-Da: "exclamation; an imitation of a fanfare, used typically to call attention to an impressive entrance or a dramatic announcement...embrace and celebrate your mistakes, and then move on...the healing power of humour."
It is in the space between these two terms, where we find insight into the fascinating struggle of the positive versus the negative outlook of error and failure. For us, these words begged the question, are there some mistakes that have been made, that we simply can never entirely embrace and move on from? Can humour heal all wounds?
If we were to push the boundaries of the word 'falhanco', and look to some of the greatest examples of when humanity perhaps, failed itself, what would it look like juxtaposed with images of fanfare, celebration, and good old fashioned 'clowning around'?
Have we been, or are we ever able to make light of issues and incidents that have affected and devastated us transnationally? Even if one culture or sub-culture may eventually deem subject matter 'safe' for humourous reflection, is this mutual with all parties involved? In cases wherein one culture has been invaded or dominated by another, what strategies can the dominated culture use to first heal themselves, and then use humour to subvert the power of their dominators?
From the point of view of the dominator: is it ever appropriate or are there any frames wherein it is possible to joke about these scenarios?
The following images imbue the term 'clowning around' with different, and rather provactative shades of meaning, drawing parallels between the spectacle of circus, and the specatacle of destruction and disgust.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
AMS Group1( Jenna, Ty, Helen, Catherine)
Response to Helsinki/
Tampere Group C:
Cosmopolitan
1) Having worldwide rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing.
2) Having wide international sophistication.
3) Composed of persons, constituents, or elements from all or many parts of the world.
Source: Merriam-Webster On line. 18 September, 2008.
We find your challenge to the wold ‘cosmopolitan’ interesting because it was in a way similar to and different from our challenge at the same time. The discussion on refugees is an interesting one. Why are refugees not regarded as cosmopolitan? If you look at the three definitions of cosmopolitan above,
you will see that the 2nd definition is the one which it seems not so inclusive of refugees. ‘Cosmopolitan’, in modern usage connotes the adjectives Exotic, Sophisticated, Stylish, just as the Warwick group 3 suggested and just as your image of the Cosmopolitan Magazine cover also suggests. Therefore a refugee who might have a worldwide scope isn't considered cosmopolitan because he/she does not choose to move to other countries but is forced to be on the move because of circumstances. In other words because of not having sop
histicated and exotic experiences.
Key Word – BEAUTY
Response
The Travelling Concept of Beauty
The concept of “beauty” [spelled in the Philippines as “byuti”] hav
e been appropriated by the bakla [loose translation: effeminate gay man] in the Philippines to refer to self—the self that is in his inner core, that corresponds to the true, the good, and the feminine. (Ethnographers such as Fenella Cannell, Mark Johnson, and Martin Manalansan have also noted this inventive usage in their respective studies.) So when one bakla tells another, “my byuti is very tired today,” he actually means that “I’m very tired today.”
This wonderful twining of “self” and “beauty” (in the traditional sense of the word) has visible implications of gender performances in the Philip
pines, particularly that of the bakla. The bakla makes a clear distinction between “natural beauty” (natural na ganda) and “authentic beauty” (tunay na ganda). Natural beauty relates to physical attractiveness that is biological determined or, as most Filipinos would say, God-given.
“Natural Beauty”
Angel Aquino, Actor
Authentic beauty, on the other hand, refers to the inner self, to byuti. For the baklas, it is not enough to say one has beautiful core. It is imperative for them to show and perform it to other people, particularly in pageants, which is arguably the most popular form of live entertainment in the country. The purpose of the performance
is to validate their identity.
“Authentic Beauty”
In realizing their byuti on stage, the bakla uses theatrical devices such as costumes, make-up, and lighting. He imitates the looks, the speech, and the walk of the models and stars in Manila and in Milan. For the bakla, his conception of authentic beauty does not contradict with the theatricality (read: artificiality) of his performance. His staged beauty is deemed authentic because it reflects his inner self, his byuti. And that could never be faked.
Keywords: beauty, self, authenticity, theatricality
Response to Helsinki Group A
Transcultural
(“…it seems that in almost every aspect of society or culture there is something "trans". So, if there is transculturality in everything, where is the place for cultural-specific? Is transcultural education really possible? And transcultural mental health?! If transcultural is a notion of UNIVERSALITY of culture, then why we just don't say UNIVERSAL? If transcultural refers to something common to all cultures then what's there to "exchange"? Isn't it just an oxymoron?”)
response:
Patrice Pavis, in the introduction to The Intercultural Performance Reader, discusses transcultural in an attempt to define the word intercultural. He explains transcultural theater to be something that goes beyond culture to find gestures and traditions that speak to the universality of the human condition beneath race, class and culture. The observation that your group made regarding the universality of culture is quite keen; however, we would like to postulate that perhaps the transcultural is found in small moments or brief experiences rather than in broader categories such as education or mental health.
We recognize the difficulty behind discovering anything that is universal, but there is a beauty in stumbling across some common ground in a world of differences. Something transcultural doesn’t have to be universal, but if it can link two cultures for a moment and provides a forum for conversation, than it exists beyond the realm of the paradoxical.
This link is a street performance of a “transcultural waltz”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rl3lbdRk_qE
A quote from the artist:
“Art is not just beauty. It is conveying a profound personal message. Any artist should work as mirror of society and reflect the important issues of life. Moreover, as an artist, I feel the obligation to have a positive impact on our reality. It is not important what you achieve with your talent. It is important how you share it.“
- Rafael Sotomayor
What makes this performance transcultural? We’re not entirely sure, but if it evokes something in you or reminds you of even a moment in your life, it has gone beyond the culture of the artist and taken a hold of you. Somehow, this performance evokes a different response in each of us. Rafael Sotomayer is using his art as a form of communication to transcend locality, culture, and perhaps even time. Is this not what art is supposed to do? Somehow bring us together through images, gestures, performances… education?
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