Strangers Art: Play Draw Point

Group Members:
Daphne Ngatimin, Elizabeth Quek, Francesca Nio, Yeoh Zhen Qi

Inspired by the works of Blast Theory, a UK-based performance group that creates interactive performances that engage the public community in site-specific locations, we were assigned to recreate similar collaborative performances using Singapore as our stage. We will be using the social media, Instagram as a secondary platform, with the public as participants and viewers. The performance that we create aims to stretch art into life, breaking the boundaries between the artist and the audiences while incorporating the concept of #DIWO (collaborative art). 

Introducing our on-location performance project, “Play Draw Point,” which will devise a narrative that plays off interactions with strangers and the media. The players will be the artist of the game by collaboratively drawing a portrait and then associate the drawing to a “look-a-like”. The incentive that these players get is that they will become part of the performance as co-artists, creating a collaborative art piece, hence creating a sense of shared experience and community.

HOW ITS PLAYED?

  1. From a list of facial features we curated, the player would have to pick out one feature to draw from the box.
  2. Up to the player’s interpretation, he/she would have to draw out the feature which was chosen – starting from the face shape.
  3. The drawing would then be passed to the next player (another stranger) until the drawing is completed.
  4. After each drawer’s turn, they would have to take a picture with the drawing and point towards a specified direction such that the pictures would link up on our secondary platform, Instagram. If we are rejected in participation, we will upload a blank black space representing the glitch in our project- breaking the narrative.
  5. At the end of each portrait, another player would  be required to guess the identity of the drawing based on their own interpretation, regardless if it a celebrity, cartoon character or even someone they know.

The drawing/list of features written down does not lead to a specific identity, as such the interpretation of the drawing is fully dependant on the player to create an interesting association with one. This shows how the brain is malleable, in a way it associates objects/people with certain links. Another interesting point is that the players become part of the art work and the artists to curate the drawing. Each of them have different drawing skills and interpretation which allows the drawing to be ‘glitched’ and morphed into an individuals interpretation – whether it becomes a cartoon drawing or a portrait, or even an unguessable form!

Test Run (ADM)
In order to ensure there are no failures or actual bumps of the project on the actual day, we decided to have a short trial in ADM – without telling them anything, which leaves them to their own interpretation as well.

PROJECT PLAY DRAW POINT:

On the day of the actual experimental project, we went off around NTU, looking for players to become co-artists. At the end, we obtained 6 complete drawings, involving approximately 60 players in total!

In order to document and to show the small add ons of each drawing, the players along with their drawing are uploaded to our Instagram. Moreover, to give the players an idea of the game, our Instagram page was also given to them in order for them to understand the whole game and narrative of the project.

https://www.instagram.com/letsplaystrangerthings/

TO Conclude, the way we curated our project was giving the control to the players, being co-artists and creators of the game itself. It is up to them to glitch it up and down. One thing that I caught my attention was that the phenomenon of a linkage of glitch. For example, when someone rejected us, there will be a higher rate of upcoming rejection (glitch). In a way our project has been influenced by a lot of telematic art that uses collaborative art and leaving the outcome to the players – such as Yoko Ono’s cut piece, Douglas Davis’s World’s Longest Collaborative Sentence, Ken Goldberg’s Telegarden or even the exquisite glitch micro project. Our final project has explored the idea of the social practice in including the audiences into the piece, making it an interactive experience that included both ourselves and the audiences, as co-artists! Creating a community of artists that anyone can be a part of!

On Location Performance: Strangers Art – Play, Draw & Point

fiInspired by the works of Blast Theory, a UK-based performance group that creates interactive performances that engage the public community in site-specific locations, we were assigned to re-create similar collaborative performances using Singapore as our stage. We will be using the social media, Instagram as a secondary platform. The performance that we create aims to stretch art into life, breaking the boundaries between the artist and the audiences. Introducing our on-location performance project, “Let’s Play Stranger’s Art,” which will devise a narrative that plays off interactions with strangers and the media. The players will be the artist of the game by collaboratively drawing a portrait. #DIWO

Our game plan will be to first approach a random stranger around the chosen location to help us draw a facial feature starting from the face shape. This will connect to the next stranger to draw another type of feature chosen and so on, building a chain of artists drawing a face. The facial features will be chosen in random by the player from a mystery box filled with different types of  facial features. Once the face is completed, another stranger will be asked to guess who the drawing portraying. The stranger can guess any identity without restrictions (any cartoon, celebrities or influencers). We will be filming the process, as well as documenting it on the performance’s Instagram to see the evolution of the portrait. Of course, there will be rejections from the crowd along the way; this adds to the unexpected mess and glitch towards our performance. We will represent this glitch by posting a black blank post on Instagram. Towards the end of the performance, we will have a collage of the process, the final portrait drawing, the ‘look-alike’, and black glitches along the way.

The incentive that these players get is that they will become part of the performance as co-artists, creating a collaborative art piece, hence creating a sense of shared experience and community. Our performance will create a connection between the players found in the location, building a bridge between them, us and the performance. The performance will be carried out around Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a space that is vibrant and spontaneous. The safety and privacy of these participants will be taken seriously since we understand that some of them would not be comfortable taking part in this performance. Overall, we simply want to create a performance that is fun yet thought-provoking. More importantly, we want to apply what we have learnt in Experimental Interaction into it!

Micro-Project #2: Telescroll (Social Broadcasting)

Posted by Daphne Natimin on Tuesday, 23 January 2018

As the remaining three amigos, we decided to do a double pairing, in which my partner became Bella. After a few brainstorms, we decided to do something ordinary for girls, something that happens daily for most girls. This led to the idea of girls getting ready together. Have you ever wondered why girls go to the bathroom together or even do things almost together all the time? Its fun! We get an increase of communication in order to further deepen the relationship and understanding of each other.

There will always be this one time when your friend, a close friend, best friend or even a family member who would move away to another country for a certain reason, which decreases the communication between the two or more. Through the interaction of doing things together online/media makes up for it. It serves the purpose to show that even if one may not be physically next to each other, they could always meet in the third space, connecting people together. For example, leaving each other on call whilst doing work, eating or even casual chilling. This is also the reason why Facebook, Skype or OSS was programmed. ITS ABOUT CONNECTING, COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION.

During the process of the live performance, it was quite hard to mirror the other accurately and synchronise, even though some were pre-planned. Research has shown that the more time you spend with another the more synchronise you get in terms of movements- due to our mirror neurons. However, as time passed, we slowly became more synchronised in terms of the timing on getting ready. Furthermore, rather than a casual live broadcast, it felt more of a performance art in synchronisation in the third space. This was a pleasant experience in dabbling in the social art and doing it in real time, different location. It creates a new space for the art where people from all over the world can come together!

Open Source Studio (OSS)

Leaping one step further into expanding the digital world and innovative platforms, such as Linux or GNU, Randall Packer went ahead and expanded these innovations by creating the Open Source Studio (OSS).

https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/

The term open source originated in the context of software development to designate a specific approach to creating computer programs. Open Source Studio (OSS) is a joint, online software environment programmed to meet the needs and dynamics of studio-based teaching in the media arts, where it is open publicly. It provides new potential for artists to collaborate or produce peer to peer artistic results amplified by the network. Furthermore, it exposes open source thinking to challenge and inspire peers. Encouraging the cross pollination of ideas and process for in-depth understanding and learning in order to produce artistic fruitage. This leads to the emphasis of DIWO (Do It With Others). 

Through OSS, peer to peer interaction became more inclusive where concepts were easily understood through the reference of the documentation of peers.  It also allows us to see or read in different perspectives or manipulation, in order to achieve a broader mind. Moreover, engaging on online discussion, comments or feedback. Creative inspiration comes from the ‘outdoors’, where social interaction stands. OSS promotes the fairness to artists to document or reference anything, however, it crosses a blur line onto the laws of plagiarism and copyrights. 

OSS is all about the collaborative practices among peer groups that share goals, methods, ideologies, and aspirations that helps all of us grow. 

http://www.memes.com/advice-yoda/104

 

Micro-Project 1: Experiment in Social Broadcasting

The social broadcasting experience is quite true and real especially with friends.I think it made the experience more enjoyable and less awkward, in contrast to, doing it yourself. Furthermore, I found another level of respect towards youtubers who vlog daily…on the angles and the content they release to keep the audiences entertained. Social broadcasting is another medium that is fascinating to me how we could see other people who are vlogging at the same time, yet, different space into one space – called the ‘Third space’. Through the learning and playing in the medium of the internet, it made it much more interesting whilst taking it globally. I guess to a certain extend it holds much relevance to this millennial world which keeps the world connected through this interaction.

Hi this is awkward

Posted by Daphne Natimin on Thursday, 18 January 2018

https://thirdspacenetwork.com/public-video-wall/