NO AVATARS – Landi’s cube (2022-in progress)
“NoAvatar” is a project that aims to explore the potential of virtual reality technology for artistic creation, but with a different approach from the traditional use of this technology. The term “avatar” derives from the Sanskrit word “avatāra,” which means “descent” or “manifestation,” and is used to describe the incarnation of a god or spiritual entity in human or animal form. The term is also used to refer to the primary tool for interacting with a virtual space through a virtual body embodied by the user.
The project involves using an interactive system that allows the choreographer to direct the movements of dancers in real-time through a virtual interface. The system is inspired by Laban’s cube, the game “Twister,” and Rubik’s cube in its most mechanical part. It also draws inspiration from the work of Merce Cunningham, a famous choreographer who used chance and the generation of random data in the creation of his choreographies, in its most artistic part. In this way, the project questions the concept of control in art and life, playing with the idea of degrees of freedom.
During the performance, the dancers wear virtual reality devices that allow them to visualize the choreographer’s instructions and interact with the system. The choreographer can give specific instructions on body position or movement direction, or generate random instructions to create a unique performance every time. “NoAvatar” aims to show how the avatar is not the main tool for interacting with the virtual world, in favor of a direct presence of the virtual on the dancer’s skin. However, it also intends to reject the idea that the dancers themselves are a sort of avatar of the choreographer. A real-time system of instant co-creation and a peer-to-peer interaction system is created between the dancer, choreographer, and technology, in which the dancer is free to rework the proposal made, the choreographer assumes a performative responsibility on stage in real-time, and even the technology itself can express itself through random sequences. An experimental and unpredictable multi-voice dialogue.
Concept, Artistic Direction, Movement Research
Margherita Landi
XR Programmers
Fabrizio Ciolino, Sergi van Ravenswaay, Esther de Bruijn.
Design
Matunda Groenendijk, Charlène Dosso
Production
GOLD
With the support of
VRDays, Eindhoven Design Academy, Cinedans, An Icon (University of Milan)
NO AVATARS – Landi’s cube (2022-in progress)
“NoAvatar” is a project that aims to explore the potential of virtual reality technology for artistic creation, but with a different approach from the traditional use of this technology. The term “avatar” derives from the Sanskrit word “avatāra,” which means “descent” or “manifestation,” and is used to describe the incarnation of a god or spiritual entity in human or animal form. The term is also used to refer to the primary tool for interacting with a virtual space through a virtual body embodied by the user.
The project involves using an interactive system that allows the choreographer to direct the movements of dancers in real-time through a virtual interface. The system is inspired by Laban’s cube, the game “Twister,” and Rubik’s cube in its most mechanical part. It also draws inspiration from the work of Merce Cunningham, a famous choreographer who used chance and the generation of random data in the creation of his choreographies, in its most artistic part. In this way, the project questions the concept of control in art and life, playing with the idea of degrees of freedom.
During the performance, the dancers wear virtual reality devices that allow them to visualize the choreographer’s instructions and interact with the system. The choreographer can give specific instructions on body position or movement direction, or generate random instructions to create a unique performance every time. “NoAvatar” aims to show how the avatar is not the main tool for interacting with the virtual world, in favor of a direct presence of the virtual on the dancer’s skin. However, it also intends to reject the idea that the dancers themselves are a sort of avatar of the choreographer. A real-time system of instant co-creation and a peer-to-peer interaction system is created between the dancer, choreographer, and technology, in which the dancer is free to rework the proposal made, the choreographer assumes a performative responsibility on stage in real-time, and even the technology itself can express itself through random sequences. An experimental and unpredictable multi-voice dialogue.
Concept, Artistic Direction, Movement Research
Margherita Landi
XR Programmers
Fabrizio Ciolino, Sergi van Ravenswaay, Esther de Bruijn.
Design
Matunda Groenendijk, Charlène Dosso
Production
GOLD
With the support of
VRDays, Eindhoven Design Academy, Cinedans, An Icon (University of Milan)
