WORKSHOP REPORT - September 19 2014
Workshop – 1 – 4pm
234 West Main St. Salisbury MD
Performance / Public Intervention – 5.30 – 8pm
Salisbury downtown plaza Third Friday art walk
Motion Sculpture movement workshop & Motion Sculpture
Movement Installation “Attack
of the Killer Stripey Tubes” performance / public
intervention – a community event
hosted by Salisbury University Art Galleries.
Participating in the workshop were:
Tara Gladden, David Gladden, Clarisse Young, Pat Petersen,
Cori Beardsley, Nancy Mitchell, Dakota Saulsbury, Kaitlyn Case, Kent Kondo,
Sally Molenda, Eric Shuster.
Introduction
Vibrations
Joint Spirals
Breath - (adding shape & stillness)
Transfer of Weight - (adding shape & stillness)
Exploration of body-shape alteration with
Exploration of body-shape alteration with
stretchy fabric
tubes & balloons.
Public intervention/performance
installation:
Public intervention/performance
installation:
“Attack of the Killer
Stripey Tubes”
The overall arch of this workshop was: to release tension
and energize the body
(Vibrations), to open up and free the body for full range
of motion (Joint Spirals), to
expand and stretch into space (Breath), to
connect with the earth for stability (Transfer
of Weight). As well as these
physical goals – each exercise encourages creative exploration
of motion and
form. The focus eventually centered on Shape and Stillness with slow
motion
transitions. This lead to preparation for the performance “Attach of the Killer
Stripey Tubes” by exploring possibilities of distorted / augmented human form
inside long
stretchy fabric tubes and the introduction of balloons to achieve
this rather mutant
anthropomorphic effect!
During the two and a half hours performance installation
time, each performer was at
liberty to take breaks as needed – they could also
choose to work together in groups or
pairs, or to “go solo”. They were
encouraged to interact with members of the public and
with structures on the
street.
Over the course of the workshop, we stopped briefly to check
in and discuss how everyone
was doing and share experiences of each exercise.
Summary:
This was a community group mainly consisting of students. There were also professionals
and retired career workers in attendance – so
there was a mix of ages and abilities. None
of them were trained dancers –
although some had experience with dance or yoga classes.
Most were interested
or involved in the arts.
What struck me about this group was their courage and
enthusiasm – not only to try
something new and unfamiliar, but also to then go
immediately out into the street and
totally get into the spirit of public
performance! It was such an enjoyable experience for
all of us.
Feedback:
As I do not have a record of the discussion during the workshop
session – I have asked
participants if they would write to me with their
comments and feedback.
Tara
Gladden
Occupation(s) – artist, educator, curator/gallerist.
- Interest / Experience in the arts in general: I am a singer/interdisciplinary artist with a little movement training and a lot of body awareness, interested in integrating movement into my work.
- Workshop comments & feedback: This was a very accessible, well structured workshop. The exercises were very well sequenced and it was flexible enough to appeal to and be suitable for all levels. Claire did a very good job of creating an atmosphere of open, safe space which made me feel comfortable in the context. I also think the length of 3 hours worked well.
- Performance (Stripey Tubes Public Intervention / Installation) comments & feedback.: This was a fun and challenging Performance. I felt well prepared for the experience after going through the workshop in terms of working with the stripey tubes and having the movement vocabulary to feel confident in the delivery. I wonder how things might have been different in terms of energy for performance had the workshop and performance happened over the course of 2 days.
- Conclusion & any other statements, ideas, comments, questions etc: I both participated in and programmed this workshop. As a result, I was there and have gotten a good amount of feedback about the experience; all of which was very positive. I have run into people who participated in this workshop over the course of the past couple months and can say with confidence, that the concepts presented in the workshop resonated in a deep way, made a lasting impression on the participants, and it was a positive experience for most if not all involved.
Occupation(s) – artist, educator, curator/gallerist.
- Interest / Experience in the arts in general: I am a singer/interdisciplinary artist with a little movement training and a lot of body awareness, interested in integrating movement into my work.
- Workshop comments & feedback: This was a very accessible, well structured workshop. The exercises were very well sequenced and it was flexible enough to appeal to and be suitable for all levels. Claire did a very good job of creating an atmosphere of open, safe space which made me feel comfortable in the context. I also think the length of 3 hours worked well.
- Performance (Stripey Tubes Public Intervention / Installation) comments & feedback.: This was a fun and challenging Performance. I felt well prepared for the experience after going through the workshop in terms of working with the stripey tubes and having the movement vocabulary to feel confident in the delivery. I wonder how things might have been different in terms of energy for performance had the workshop and performance happened over the course of 2 days.
- Conclusion & any other statements, ideas, comments, questions etc: I both participated in and programmed this workshop. As a result, I was there and have gotten a good amount of feedback about the experience; all of which was very positive. I have run into people who participated in this workshop over the course of the past couple months and can say with confidence, that the concepts presented in the workshop resonated in a deep way, made a lasting impression on the participants, and it was a positive experience for most if not all involved.
David Gladden
Profession: Assistant Professor of New Media Art at Salisbury University
Interest/Experience: At Brooklyn College, where I earned my MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Arts, I learned movement exercises, theatrical strategies, and performance art concepts. I tried various techniques and was exposed to many ideas. I am currently a performance artist, as well as a painter, sculptor, video artist, and teacher.
Workshop Feedback: I enjoyed the workshop immensely. I found it engaging, intriguing, meditative, and immersive. I thought the workshop and instruction was of great help for the participant to be successful in the performance and public intervention. The event was a lot of fun and my students also enjoyed it.
Performance Feedback: The performance/public intervention was interesting. Some people treated me as if I was not human. They poked and prodded me, or they said strange things. Other people embraced the strangeness of me as a living sculpture, and thought that we added a strong visual and mystical presence to the downtown festival.
Conclusion: It was such a treat to have such a great, bonding experience with a diverse group of people: students, faculty, artists, and community members.
(BTW – I also would like to mention about David, that while at Brooklyn College, he studied performance with Vito Acconci)
Pat Petersen
Occupation: Retired, former County Finance Director and federal auditor
Interest: I have always loved ballet and liked modern dance, so much so that when I turned 35 I took "Adult Beginner Ballet" for the first time. What a revelation! The simplest things are the hardest, and some of the most spectacular things aren't. In any event, it quickly became apparent that I was not cut out for ballet, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the class for 3 years. I took what I learned and applied it to watching ballet companies at the Kennedy Center with a much greater appreciation for what goes into making the dance. Thank goodness for DVDs - I can always enjoy watching Baryshnikov and Nureyev any time I want!
Workshop Comments and Feedback: I found the workshop very informative and very stress-less. As a 64-year-old non-limber person, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do everything I was asked to do, but the way you conducted it put me at ease - basically, just do what I was comfortable with within the parameters of the exercises. An example - sitting on the floor is difficult for me (poor core strength) so the second time we got on the floor I just sat on a chair instead and did the breathing exercises there. Another example - when you asked for feedback, you were very receptive to what the participants were saying. And when I found that one side of my body responded differently than the other, that was a revelation! The breathing exercises were the most helpful to me, centering me for the upcoming performance.
Performance Comments and Feedback: I loved the chance to perform. Kids were the most fun - either they were scared or delighted, and I felt both reactions went into making my performance a "success." I did have one problem - since I have poor balance (that darn core strength issue coupled with a bad foot) I wasn't able to hold the positions as long as I "should" have - my performance was more of a very s-l-o-w-l-y moving performance, shifting weight, bending, stretching, etc. I know in the workshop we held our positions longer, but I wasn't able to do it that way. However, the very slow movement worked for me.
Suggestion: In the workshop, when we were slow walking, I was able to "dis-focus" and concentrate on my body (not my sight) by taking off my glasses. When everything is a blur, I find that I latch onto what I can control, which in this case was breathing and feeling the floor. Could you think about giving people something that would distort their vision (3-D glasses, maybe?) that would (1) force the focus to body/breath, and (2) possibly prepare them for the lack of vision when they are in the stripey tube?
I would
do it again!
Kaitlyn Casey
Student
Interest/Experience in Graphic Design and Photography
Workshop Comments: I did have a little bit of a prior commitment beforehand so I
wasn’t able to be there for the complete workshop. From what I was able to attend, I
thought it was interesting and went well. I haven’t been apart of something like this
before so it was a change up. The music was very calming and so were the exercises.
Walking from one end of the room to the other in slow motions while creating
different shapes using our arms and legs allowed me to be free and let go of some of
the stress and tension that had been built up from some of my classes. It also helped
me prepare for the performance in creating different, relaxing moves instead of
being stiff.
Performance Comments: This was really interesting and I liked it. I usually tend to
be on the shy side when it comes to performing in front of
others but I liked how
this allowed us to be hidden from the public. That wasn’t the only reason I liked it
though. Being in the tubes and creating the different shapes was beautiful and it was
fun to walk around the streets. You would make a pose and freeze for a while and it
allowed for a good interaction between the performer and the public.
Conclusion: I was glad I was able to be apart of something like this. It was different
this allowed us to be hidden from the public. That wasn’t the only reason I liked it
though. Being in the tubes and creating the different shapes was beautiful and it was
fun to walk around the streets. You would make a pose and freeze for a while and it
allowed for a good interaction between the performer and the public.
Conclusion: I was glad I was able to be apart of something like this. It was different
and it felt good to be able to explore performance art. I’m
more into digital
photography and design on the computer so it was a nice switch from what I’m used
to. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be apart of this.
photography and design on the computer so it was a nice switch from what I’m used
to. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to be apart of this.
My name is Clarisse Young.
I'm currently employed at perfume world.
My dream is to start a career where I can dance and move around everyday. I'm working on creating a yoga, ballet, and palates workout style and someday I hope to incorporate Tai Chi aswell. I want to open a wellness center where people learn how to naturally and holistically heal themselves and get in tune with their trinity (mind, body, and spirit) and find my and help others find their perfect balance in life.
I love dancing and singing for fun. I've been a cheerleader. I've done performance arts in high school, our chorus program involved a lot of dance as well. I've taken a few ballet lessons most recently. I love music. I love making sound at all. I play piano and love making different rhythms.
Claire's workshop changed my whole perspective on movement and bodily control, and through the Web (physical not virtual web), my entire life. I received such a sensation of renewal and freedom. The more control I gained over my muscles, particularly through my breathing, the freer I felt. The workshop opened my eyes even wider to the power of even, deep, and intentional breathing. If you completely relax, you end up with more energy, as if the more energy you release the more you receive. As if you're breathing in divine source energy. I believe with a clear and focused mind you are. She taught me how to more efficiently practice moving mediation.
To me the stripey tubes represent the way everything is connected. All of the forms of art are connected to one another and life itself is art through the eyes of the artist. A human can be a moving sculpture because of the natural sacred geometry we are already made out of. It allows you to experience on a more literal level that you are part of a bigger picture. All parts equally important and dependent on one another. Claire shows you how to observe that you naturally are already a work of art. You must listen to your body and you can demonstrate this to yourself and come back to the present moment and feel absolutely rejuvenated.
Claire's workshop was truly a life changing and perspective broadening experience. I'm extremely grateful to have been a part. It was a very dreamy and enjoyable day.
Corinne Beardsley
- Occupation(s) - Sculpture and Ceramic Professor
- Interest / Experience in the arts in general - & in movement / performance:
I am a dancer-
leading improvisational dance classes- 5 rhythms style. I am not a
trained dancer, but have been to a few "Sweat your Prayers" dance
group
- Workshop comments & feedback:
- Workshop comments & feedback:
The workshop was
wonderful and got me to open up in new ways. I hadn't slowed down my
movements before, and felt each dimension of their movements with my
breath. It was experimental moving yoga. I felt so much of myself
moving and opening up. New forms developed, I felt myself connecting the
vision of what I saw my body doing connecting with the movement.
Controlling the breath with my gestures, thinking about the expressiveness of
the movement, and the beauty of shapes between transitions. The warm up
of shaking it all out, focusing on separate body parts felt so good too.
It was a powerful and transformative workshop for my dancing practice.
- Performance (Stripey Tubes Public Intervention / Installation) comments & feedback:
I did not participate in the performance too much. Putting on the tube felt constricting to the openness and freedom I just experienced in the workshop. Those I saw wearing the tubes looked awesome, but personally I just wanted to dance freely. I could have challenged myself a bit more to overcome that feeling.
- Conclusion & any other statements, ideas, comments, questions:
The music from the workshop was perfect too, having that trancy beats directing us was a treat and felt very in sync with the whole experience.
- Performance (Stripey Tubes Public Intervention / Installation) comments & feedback:
I did not participate in the performance too much. Putting on the tube felt constricting to the openness and freedom I just experienced in the workshop. Those I saw wearing the tubes looked awesome, but personally I just wanted to dance freely. I could have challenged myself a bit more to overcome that feeling.
- Conclusion & any other statements, ideas, comments, questions:
The music from the workshop was perfect too, having that trancy beats directing us was a treat and felt very in sync with the whole experience.
Eric Shuster
- Occupation: musician (percussion), music educator at Salisbury University
- Interest / Experience in the arts in general - & in movement / performance: interested in performance and visual arts. As a percussionist, I use a great deal of movement in performance. I find myself sensitive to the idea of movement in performance as both a technical and creative/artistic element.
- Workshop comments & feedback: I entered without expectations or a real knowledge of what was happening. I'm friends with the organizer, Tara Gladden, and I trust the things that she programs. I found the atmosphere fairly welcoming. It helped that I knew a lot of the people. The soundtrack was very good. I liked the room except for the large windows made me feel a bit self conscious. Still, I was able to loosen up fairly quickly and maintain that state of being.
- Performance (Stripey Tubes Public Intervention / Installation) comments & feedback: I did not participate in the performance...I suppose I didn't feel comfortable with what I took to be an exhibitionist nature of the work. I didn't have a strong feeling about working with the tubes during the class. Perhaps it was because my tube only went around my torso. I did enjoy watching some other folks in their tubes.
- Conclusion & any other statements, ideas, comments, questions: Despite not taking part in the performance I very much enjoyed the class. Thanks for all that you did!
Kent Kondo
Occupation: Student
Interests: Graphic Design, Music Composition, Painting, Photography
Experience in movement / performance: Little to none
Comments: The whole experience was relaxing, and I found myself in a very serene state the next day. Unfortunately, that serenity left me the day after that. The workshop taught me to feel in touch with every change that was happening in my body while doing the movements. The initial warm-up exercises I also found very effective in its introductory purpose. I was also struck about how it was better to not move at all than to do little fast movements that attracted attention -- that in a way, not attracting attention was the best way to garner the most interest. There is certainly something poetic about this approach.
I enjoyed the climactic approach to the performance itself, starting with the workshop's beginning, shaking the ankles and such to loosen up, (with our movements gradually getting more and more artful with each exercise) all the way to the donning of the stripey tubes, and taking that intimate experience within the workshop into the outside world, or in our case, the narrow streets of Salisbury.
One particular experience that was interesting was that a little child about the height of my waist came up and kicked me in the shin, and the child was then scolded by the mother and told to "go apologize, right now!" The child I think was able to enjoy the interactivity of the motion sculpture and appreciate it as a work of Art, more than the parent, who still considered the form a human being, to be respected with space. It was odd how I was glad I got kicked in the shin, and probably one of the few circumstances in my life where that will be the case.
Interests: Graphic Design, Music Composition, Painting, Photography
Experience in movement / performance: Little to none
Comments: The whole experience was relaxing, and I found myself in a very serene state the next day. Unfortunately, that serenity left me the day after that. The workshop taught me to feel in touch with every change that was happening in my body while doing the movements. The initial warm-up exercises I also found very effective in its introductory purpose. I was also struck about how it was better to not move at all than to do little fast movements that attracted attention -- that in a way, not attracting attention was the best way to garner the most interest. There is certainly something poetic about this approach.
I enjoyed the climactic approach to the performance itself, starting with the workshop's beginning, shaking the ankles and such to loosen up, (with our movements gradually getting more and more artful with each exercise) all the way to the donning of the stripey tubes, and taking that intimate experience within the workshop into the outside world, or in our case, the narrow streets of Salisbury.
One particular experience that was interesting was that a little child about the height of my waist came up and kicked me in the shin, and the child was then scolded by the mother and told to "go apologize, right now!" The child I think was able to enjoy the interactivity of the motion sculpture and appreciate it as a work of Art, more than the parent, who still considered the form a human being, to be respected with space. It was odd how I was glad I got kicked in the shin, and probably one of the few circumstances in my life where that will be the case.
Links:
Later that evening, I also performed in an audio/visual performance collaboration with artist David Linton (which is referred to in these press links).
photos by Tara Gladden
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