End of Semester Reflection

This semester in Contemporary Composing, or DMA, has pushed me to think about art and composing a way I would not have otherwise.

It exposed me to a myriad of questions and theories. I was constantly pushing myself to translating the intangible or theoretical into the practical. It's a very specific kind of thought process I was using. And then, having been presented with all these ideas, I formed my own opinion about the material based on my own identity as a composer and artist.

• The contemporary cultural contexts of UNCSA and beyond

Our modern day context has opened up so many more possibilities for composing due to technology. Technology lends itself really well to boundary blending, a concept that has really interested me. With all these different tools, we can mold processes together and compose something that defies definition because art is always evolving with the evolving context of our world. 

• What makes us all composers

We are all composers because we constantly infusing our lives and actions with creative thought and intention. Here at UNCSA, we do this on an even more heightened scale because we are artists with evocative and empathetic visions and ideas about our world. We have technique and skill with which to compose. But all human beings are composers, this is true. Translating thought into creation, that's composing. Getting dressed, writing a note, wrapping a Christmas present, all these actions are forms of composing. 

• What makes artistic types of composing unique

I have a lot of respect for the differences between composing processes for different art forms. Whether you're dealing with language, music, film, movement, etc, the form dictates the process. Different artistic types of composing also can achieve different impacts. They allow for unique nuances and effects on an audience. They do this by appealing to different senses and parts of the psyche. For example, music appeals to the auditory sense, whereas visual art obviously appeals to the visual. The very nature of the art forms dictates their impact. 

• How composers in various artistic domains or fields conceptualize and enact the composing process

Composing processes are varied and personal. After listening to so many articulate lectures, it's clear that there is no one right answer. It is different for every composer and every artist. I think composers are constantly searching for the most authentic route to the most impactful work. Over time and with experience, composers have some sort of road map for how they compose, but even then that road map is constantly changing and evolving with the ever changing forms and context of our world.

• What it feels like to compose in artistic fields other than your own

For me, composing in artistic fields outside my own has been an exercise in self discovery. Even though I'm here at UNCSA pursuing such a specialized field of study, I still feel like I have a voice to be discovered in other artistic fields. It's very liberating and reassuring to know that my identity as an artists translates into other fields besides acting. 

• What happens when first-generation multimedia (dance, design and production, drama, film, liberal arts, music, and visual arts) and second-generation multimedia (digital text, image, audio, and video) are combined, recombined, and remixed in contemporary composing 

When first generation and second generation multimedia are combined, recombined, and remixed, it opens a door for a flood of artistic impact. Because now not only are we dealing with the context of the media, we're also dealing with the comment that the interaction makes. Often the interaction of two forms of multimedia can make a very profound and symbolic comment about our changing context.

Composing in Movement and Performance

INTRODUCTION

In this unit we looked at Composing in Movement and Performance, particularly what makes a performance a performance, which has all to do with the composing process and context.

STARTING POINTS

As an actor, I had thought a lot about the definition of performance, and what makes an action performative. I had also spent a lot of my training battling against letting my work become too performative and forsake naturalism.


WHAT I LEARNED

Looking at Marvin Carlson's perspective on performance, I was stuck by how he looked at the bare bones of performance- what in its machinery gives it the right to be performance, in other words. I grappled a lot with his ideas.

I did find his way of thinking about perfomance interesting because it actually seemed to juxtapose some of my beliefs about acting. He talked about the notion of duality in performance, in other words, the idea that performance involves putting on a mask, or pretending to be someone you are not. As an actor, we actually actively work against this idea of performance. We work to live authentically in imaginary circustances. "Performing" to me implies an air of affectation and awareness of perfoming which can detract from the authenticity and the impact of the work.

Nevertheless, I very much agreed with his idea about the purpose and impact of performance across the art forms. Regardless of the mechanics of how something becomes a performance, a performance is always a generous thing. It is giving a plethora of stumuli and stories to an audience to be devoured, interpreted, and reflected upon. Therein lies the power of art. 

Dean Wilcox brought up some very interesting points about the validity of postmodern art. I do very much believe that we have to be careful of becoming relativist about art. In other words, we can't just let anything pass as art. I do think there has to be artistic intention and creation. I don't think I can call my clothes hanging in my closet art because I did not hang them there thinking I was creating art. Now, if I actively label my closet as art with a clear process behind that choice, maybe we're having a different conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7gYMariIgQ

This is link to our filmed exploration of public performance. The pithy thing to note here is that we both had an awareness of performing but also were following a real life objective and had not scripted anything

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

I'm very fascinated my this discussion on post modern art, and I think I would like to explore more viewpoints on it. When I'm home for Christmas, I want to go to the museum of contemporary art in Chicago and see what strikes me there.

CONCLUSION

Composing in performance offers a lot of opportunity for artistic content, and the question of its definition and execution brings up a lot important questions about the nature of art.

Composing in Film, Video, and New Media

INTRODUCTION

In Unit Four, we looked at Composing in Film, Video, and New Media. This included exploring the definitions and boundaries of these three terms and how they are effectively and artistically used in the modern context.

STARTING POINTS

At the beginning of this unit, I had some understanding or idea of the boundary between film and video. Especially since starting my training here, I've been struck by just how multi-faceted and complex the art of filmmaking is. It's such an amalgamation of visions and skills and efforts. I had virtually no idea of what new media was.

WHAT I LEARNED

I dug a lot deeper into my understanding and point of view on the boundary between film and video.

I think video becomes film when there is a separate and specific intent coming from the person or people controlling the filming. When the person filming is himself/herself going through an artistic process, there becomes an artistic exchange between the filmer and what is being filmed. Point of view, editing, and cinematography come into play here. Video becomes film when it is not merely an accurate capture of an event (unless that was the specific artistic intent), but when the manner in which the event is captured heightens or makes a comment on the event itself. This is why films have such power as an artistic medium, and why filming acting, music, visual art, or dance is such a dynamic interaction of art forms and different media.

We also looked at Lev Manovich's assessment of the historical trajectory of new media. While a lot of these ideas seemed abstract to me, I pushed myself to practically apply them. New media has opened up so many doors for artistic expression, but I think the main conflict is the question of if technology puts overly numeric confines on film and video. Is something lost in today's modern context? I had a very similar thought process to Jordan Boatman, who is in my online discussion group. She had a similar fear about what happens to art when it becomes more quantitative than qualitative. Today's society looks at composing and the composer a lot differently because of new media. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHicEAMMl3Q

This is link to my channel surf video, which was made my stringing together video clips and separating them with TV static. What struck me the most about this project was something sort of profound about what film can accomplish. By using images, it can subtely comment of make a statement without being overt. Just by putting these clips together, our mind starts to make artistic and even poetic connections between them.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

I'm very struck by what film can do with imagery, editing, and perspective. I've been thinking a lot about my potential as a director, and I'm thinking at some point in my career I would love to play with how images comment on a story in film or even theatre too.

CONCLUSION

I'm grateful for the opportunity to take a closer look at composing in film, video, and new media. I think it brings up a lot of poignant points about art in the modern context.