The 3 day symposium was one that connected the audiences to the performers and speakers through the use of third space. As I watched from the screen while the events unfolded live, it was hard to deny the sense of openness the symposium had demonstrated.
Quoting Marc Garrett and his D.I.W.O concept, the symposium reminded me of a point we’ve discussed in one of our earlier classes. Then, we asked ourselves-what makes a project D.I.W.O? One of the characteristics we agreed contributed to D.I.W.O was an ” open-to-all” concept, where the artwork is available to everyone so that they could see it and add onto it.
With Adobe Connect, the platform provided that very open perspective. It allows anyone to see everything that is going on live, no matter which part of the world they’re in, what timezone they’re on. All they need was the symposium link and to log in, then the third space opens up to them.
As part of the guest audience, we didn’t just watch. We get to make use of the comment section to ask questions live and get our answers back almost immediately. It also allows us to hold discussions with one another, either audience to audience or presenters to audience, sometimes even presenters to presenters-while everyone catches everything. This is the kind of “open-to-all” magic that a many-to-many space enables.
On the first day of the symposium, we listened to Maria X’s presentation on third space, then came the performance headed by Annie Abrahams where multiple collaborators from different parts of the world came together and gave a coordinated show. Here was when third space came into full use. It was fascinating to witness their performance as we know that they’re in different places, yet as they were on screen, they were essentially sharing the same space.
I recalled when the performance started, the comment section went into a frenzy. The audience started discussing and speculating on what was going on, some people started live commenting, typing out everything that was going on at the moment.
The comments as the performance took place on Day 1
Even towards the end, when one of the performers seemed to have lost the cue to exit, the audience took to the comment section to comment ‘Helen!’ simultaneously, making it one of the most delightful moments of the night.
As mentioned, this is only achievable due to the “open-to-all” nature of the symposium, allowing the audience to join in and contribute live.
This can also be said for the next two days of the symposium, especially on the last day, where we watched performances all the way from Chicago. After the performances, we as audiences could clarify our queries and get responses live even though we were miles away from the venue and it was nice to see the interactions between those here in Singapore and those around the world.
Questions for the performers on Day 3
The symposium was definitely a new experience for me and was a very interesting take from the normal classroom curriculum where I was able to learn through the third space.
This micro-project was done along with Celine and Joey. For our act of destruction, we questioned what it means to destruct. Apart from physically destroying something, how else can we showcase destruction in a non-literal manner? We brainstormed and asked ourselves-what else can be destructed? A glitch is said to be a kind of destruction and according to Menkman,R’s “Glitch Art Manifesto” ,he says-
The glitch has no solid form or state through time; it is often perceived as an unexpected and abnormal mode of operandi, a break from (one of) the many flows (of expectations) within a technological system.
Therefore, to destruct can mean to simply break the flow or to do something that is out of what is expected. This brought us to our idea, to film a series of clips and break its sequence, therefore showcasing the destruction of flow.
We went around ADM taking videos of the seemingly normal surroundings. We switched things up by filming in a unusual way. Instead of stable videos, we shook or moved our cameras around so as to create this sense of chaos. We also agreed to go completely random so as to create a even more unexpected result. After we were done filming, we decided to edit our videos separately and combine them together after, without discussing on how we were planning on edit the clips we took. This would create even more differences and distortion, which is what our idea of destruction was. We basically welcomed all forms of inconsistencies and accidents.
When we were done, we finally pieced all our clips together and the end result was truly interesting to see. Although we filmed in the same place, our videos had different styles and varying forms of distortion. My part of the video played with different visuals that was edited to make no sense. Celine’s part of the video played with speeds and reverse. When it got to Joey’s part, there was special effects and added music and the whole video became quite surrealistic. When pieced together, the final video was rather intriguing and enjoyable to watch. This reminds me of Jon Cates’s ‘Hyperallergic’ article where he said-
“Those systems might be broken, they might be glitched, and they might be imperfect and noisy, and that might be what attracts us or me to those systems. But still they are functional or functioning in one way or another systematically. So they are connected to one another as assemblages.”
Similarly in our project, we broke the sequence of a usual film, however I also believe that we’ve brought a rather interesting new perspective to the video we’ve created, making it quite a unique video.
In this project, I worked together with Celine where we used Facebook live to interact with one another despite being in two different places.
To me, the third space is about creating a new place which make use of both the virtual and physical spaces. For example in our project, Celine and I sat at two different tables, but only through using Facebook live, it brought our locations together and allowed us to interact within this new space that we created.
The boundaries were collapsed in this third space because we acted as though we were sitting side by side. The main object in this project was a can of Milo which we were able to pass to one another throughout the video despite us being in different locations physically. We also constantly reach out to one another; giving high fives and pats on the head which helped to further enhance this “illusion” that we were in the same space.
I felt that intimacy was achieved in this project due to the visual perception that we’ve created.
“And from this ubiquitous state of shared presence we have come to inhabit an entirely new way of seeing via a fracturing of perception.”
-Randall Packer, The Third Space
Physically we were in different locations but on the screen, it seemed as if we were together and were able to touch one another visually. That helped to perceive our interactions as being close.
We were able to virtually touch objects by understanding how the split-screen works and coordinating our movements. For example, when I wanted to reach Celine, I would stretch my hand out towards Celine’s side of the screen till it goes off screen, and from her side, she would use her own hand to connect with my out-stretched arm so that it looked like one whole arm.
” The objective of the project was to demonstrate for the first time how artists based in distant physical locations could meet and perform together, in the same “living image.” -Maria Chatzichristodoulo, Cyberperformance
In this project, Celine and I collaborated by planning our actions beforehand and choreographing our movements to make it seem like we were sharing the same table. For instance, we knew we wanted to make it seem as if we were drinking from the same Milo can, so we bought two identical Milo drinks prior to the project and during the Facebook Live, we tried to choreograph our actions such that when one Milo can appears on one side of the screen, the screen on the other person’s side shouldn’t show a Milo can, this helped to give off the illusion that we are sharing the same Milo can.
This micro-project was done along with my group members, Karen and Jiajun. Held in the classroom, we invited the class to interact with Karen, who has low self esteem about her body. Karen sits in the center of the room, holding a sign that told the audience to write what they thought of her body on the corresponding body parts.
In this case, Karen acted as the canvas as the audience wrote on her. The underlying message we were trying to convey was about body image which was inspired by Karen’s lack of self-confidence.
This is an art piece which fulfils several characteristics of D.I.W.O.
As quoted from Marc Garret’s article,
“It challenges and renegotiates the power roles between artists and curators. It brings all actors to the fore, artists become co-curators alongside the curators, and the curators themselves can also be co-creators. The ‘source’ materials are open to all; to remix, re-edit and redistribute, either within a particular DIWO event or project, or elsewhere. The process is as important as the outcome, forming relationally aware peer enactments. “
In our art piece, there was a sense of openness as the artwork and material was open to all in the room. Both the artist and audience became co-creators as the audience’s contribution was greatly needed to form the final piece and the process was important to see the how Karen’s body filled with comments over time.
If we were to compare this to traditional art, the audience paid a huge part in this piece as the artwork wouldn’t have been completed without the audience’s participation. On the other hand, traditional art can be done single-handedly by the artist himself at his own time.
There are similarities in our art piece to those discussed in the crowd-sourced examples. In Yoko Ono’s ‘Cut’ piece, the viewers each came forward to cut a piece of Yoko Ono’s garment and everyone who was in the room could see the art happening live. Similarly, our art piece allowed the audience to come up individually and write on our friend, Karen while everyone in class could see the comments live as they were being written.
The difference, however lies in the type of medium used, and the message that was given out. Our artwork spoke about body image, which was influenced by Karen’s self-esteem. Therefore, the medium and message differs as it is very much dependant on the artist’s own experience and narrative.
The process of our crowd-sourced work can be viewed here:
In Project 3, we work on a larger scale as we play with sounds and visuals. For the final artwork, we were tasked to produce a 1-min video based on a place we’ve never been to.
With that said, I first started by listing 30 places I’ve never been to as a class exercise. My places included locations such as Disneyland, North Korea, inside a whale’s stomach and finally, Bermuda Triangle.
As you would know, I went with the Bermuda Triangle as I found that place to be mysterious and intriguing. That location has been long been an unsolved mystery and no one really knew what happened there. I thought this unknown quality of the place would allow many different possibilities on how I could express the place.
As for the medium, I thought of using photographs or moving images as I felt that those would be a better fit for that mysterious mood. I was also inspired by abstract and experimental films. I looked up experimental space films on Vimeo and those which caught my eye were:
Additionally, I also enjoyed an early abstract film, Filmstudie [1925] by Hans Richter.
In those films, there wasn’t a clear narrative or story line. Instead, there could be shapes or forms to suggest something. There could be repetitive visuals and along with the sounds or music added, the films evoke some sort of emotions or feelings within the audience. I thought that an abstract, experimental style would be fitting for my location as it would be difficult for me to get actual representational shots of the Bermuda Triangle. I also liked that the film could be opened up to the viewer’s interpretation.
LO-FI STORYBOARD
The background story follows a pilot as he flies over the Bermuda Triangle and enters another dimension. As seen, none of the scenes are actual representations but more suggestive.
Instead of an airplane, I thought of using clouds to suggest being in the sky.
The faulty compass would suggest being lost, or interference of the magnetic force.
A walkie-talkie shot suggest a frantic SOS call to the radio tower for help.
A black screen to create suspense as the pilot is teleported to the other dimension.
The next scenes would suggest the scenery the pilot sees at the other dimension.
SOUNDS
For the clouds, there could be background noises as if one is really in a plane.
For the compass, I thought of mimicking the sound of its pin moving by tapping on metal.
For the walkie-talkie, I wanted a reenactment of a distress call, whereby the voice sounds as if it was transmitted over radio.
The black screen will be in silence to further add on to the suspense.
The other dimensional scenes will sound un-earthly and perhaps space-like.
HI-FI STORYBOARD
For the sky, I simply captured shots of clouds and later took a fast-forwarded time-lapse of the clouds moving.
I bought a compass and came up with the second shot.
I ran into a bit of trouble for the walkie-talkie shot as I couldn’t find any suitable ones at toy stores. I had to think of how else I could capture that scene, I thought perhaps I could take a close-up shot of a radio, or take a shot of my home telephone, that’s when I explored the electronics of my home and found these.
I thought if I combined the two together and take from an angle, it might resemble a actual walkie talkie. So I did exactly that and here are first test shots-
And here’s what made it to the final cut
As for the un-earthly dimension scenes, I actually felt quite lost at first as they were quite abstract and I didn’t know how exactly I could portray them. I first tried to think of locations which might look quite alien-like. I also thought of using colouring or soap, or getting a lava lamp. However, I realised these were all time-consuming and I tried to think of a more time and cost-effective method. That was when I thought of playing with lights.
So I sat in my room in the dark and started playing with my torch light. I then realised I wanted coloured light in my composition and thought about getting coloured LEDs but me being a fairly broke and cost-conscious(cheapskate) student suggested me against that. Instead, I chose a more savvy method where I could shine my torchlight on a translucent coloured platform and achieve coloured lighting.
the set up
In the dark
Achieving pink light
Also, while I was at the toy store, I found myself being drawn to this ball toy. It’s spiky and gives off pink/blue flashes of light which I thought I could use for my “alien” world.
Also, I FORGOT TO MENTION THIS DURING PRESENTATION
but you might wonder where this red light came from when I’ve only mentioned white,blue and pink light. Well, it’s actually from what you might be holding on to right now.
It’s the light from a computer mouse. (more cheap filming hacks)
So I shone that onto the wall and on my ball toy and it helped to create a spookier effect.
FINAL STORYBOARD AND SOUNDS
As my shots became closer to the final thing, I started adding in sounds to enhance its vibe.
Here, I mimicked the pin by tapping against a metal ruler.
I got my brother to voice this scene for me and then I edited the recording on Audacity to make it sound like a radio transmission.
As the scene transition to dark when the pilot is transporting to the other dimension, I added this chilling tune found online for a build up to the suspense.
For the alternate dimension scenes, I used these two space-like background music from online sources to create the mood.
Lastly, I used the triangle I had at home for the final scenes as I thought the high pitch of the instrument would add on to the suspense and chilling mood of the other world. I also wanted there to be a rhythmic sequence to the end where it goes ‘ding’ ,’ding’, ‘ding’ and the screen goes black and there is just one loud final ‘Ding’ -ends.
I compiled the shots I took and the sounds into iMovie where I edited the shots, layered the sounds and adjusted their volumes accordingly to form the final video.
FINAL VIDEO
RHYTHM
In the video, the first scenes before the pilot enters the other dimension showed a sense of irregularity, where the audience wouldn’t know what would happen next, giving it anticipation. Then, as the scenes ventures into the alternate dimension, there is more sense of rhythm and repetition.
MOVEMENT
In this composition, there is not much of a movement, most of the shots are actually quite still or slow. This is to add to the suspense and also to allow the audience to focus on what is showing on the screen.
CAUSALITY
For this piece, perhaps there was not much on causality as most of the audience did not know what to expect while watching the video. However, perhaps the frantic distress call or the suspenseful sounds I added could foreshadow the pilot was getting into some kind of trouble.
DURATION
There was a restriction of keeping the video to 1 minute but I feel like this was a piece which could have been better if it was longer since it was a much slower film.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
I thought this was a really interesting project which allowed me to think out of the box as I did a lot of experimentation with all the camera angles, props and sounds. I also had fun sharing my process with the class.
