"We are the Ground and We have No Ground to Stand On"
In this three-day pressure cooker we will work intensely to create new performance artworks with AI voice and wearable robotics, together with a group of invited artists including singers, dancers and costume makers. The end result will be a public showcase of performances made during the pressure cooker on the afternoon of the 13th. All UT students, faculty and public are welcome to apply to participate in the pressure cooker using this application form.
The theme “METAORGANISM” comes from recent research in the life sciences pointing to the fact that almost all organisms are part of larger interdependent meta-organisms, made up of multiple beings working together. “Self” is a concept with many meanings, often created by a combination of how you interact with others and how others interact with you. But the perceptual and biological qualities that create these identities - our voices, our bodies, our faces - are made increasingly unstable by the introduction of digital technologies. How might we acknowledge others differently through a shifting of these qualities; from another human, to another being, to another organism?
In this pressure cooker we will ideate and create performance experiments that experiment with the potentials of AI-driven synthetic voice, voice clones, voice transformations, and wearable robotics and prosthetics to expand the boundaries of perception beyond singular identities, and towards metaorganismic forms. Where voices and bodies mix and merge.
The pressure cooker is organised by Jonathan Reus, who is the 2023 artist-in-residence at the University of Twente, in collaboration with the DesignLab and the Campus Art Advisory Committee (CAAC).
Applications can be submitted using this form. We welcome participants of many different skillsets, but please be aware that there is a limited number of spots available, and participants will be selected based on their suitability in terms of interests and skills. You will be notified within a week of submission whether you have been accepted or not.
Schedule
Monday, 11 Dec (DAY 1)
9:00 – 18:00: Short presentations & introduction to the DesignLab. Ideation. Forming Groups. Hands-on work, Experiments, Begin Making (possible to use DesignLab until 20:00)
Tuesday, 12 Dec (DAY 2)
9:00 – 18:00: Check-in and 1st Round of Feedback. Work Time. 2nd Round of Feedback & Planning Discussion for Performance. Work time (possible to use DesignLab until 20:00)
Wednesday, 13 Dec (DAY 3)
9:00 - 18:00: Tea & Coffee. Check-in with everyone. Plan Performances. Work Time. Set up DesignLab for Performances.
18:00: Public Performances @ DesignLab
Photo: Third Eye Noh mask by Kazuhiro Yamamoto
