Performing Arts: an investigation through dance, visual and audio fields.

Abstract

The main purpose of my work is to present the development of performing arts and technologies used for performances from the times of ancient Greece and Rome until now, in Europe and in the United States. This research analyzes the changes, improvements and interconnections between performing arts, theatre, sound, graphic design and interactive media. I investigate the development of theatre itself but I also examine the influence of technology on performing arts. My topic is directly correlated to my practical project, an interactive visualization. The outcome of my visualization is presented at the beginning of this dissertation in order to show the reason for my chosen topic and the purpose of my research. My final project gives a visual representation of the written work and also introduces the topic to the reader. The next part of my work explains what performing arts are. I define what this term means and which areas of art it includes. Performing arts is a term that is used multiple times in my work, so I give a full explanation of what they are and also explain the differences between performing arts and performance art, frequently confused by people. Then, I give a further insight into beginnings of theatre and technologies used in performances in Ancient Greece and Rome. I describe the form of stage craft, casts, types of spectacles and technological solutions at that time. Not only the theatre technologies and look were different in ancient times but also the reasons for displaying a play. Theatre wasn’t seen only as an entertainment mean. For example, Greeks were gathering to watch a play and at the same time to worship the mythological god, Dionysus and to promote cultural identity. Further on, I investigate in more details the time of the 20th and the 21st century as well as the experimental art movement that emerged during this time. Although each century contributed to the development of performing arts, the most significant technological innovations, correlated to interactive media, emerged in the 20th and the 21st century as a response to the development of technology during the World War I and the World War II. The developments during this time led to a progress that hadn’t been seen before. Because interactive media in performing arts is one of the main topics in the second part of my work, I wanted to describe this significant time on our world’s timeline, when technology started to merge with art on a completely new level. Electricity, computerization and globalization gave birth to the rapid development of technology and provided new means and solutions that artists could use as a form of expression In this part, I also describe the works and techniques of experimental artists such as Richard Schechner, Laurie Anderson, Yvonne Rainer and Vsevolod Meyerhold, each representing a different field of art. Their works are creative, rebellious and innovative and their methods and visions were an important inspiration to my interactive visualization. In the next chapter of my work I focus on dance. Dance is a part of my interactive visualization, and something that I see as a higher form of expression. I explore the significance of dance in theatre and its role as an artistic medium of communication. I also discuss the impact of media and technology on performing arts, focusing on their history and growth. It covers such areas as: sound design, lighting, digital technologies and different audiovisual and graphical media. I explain such technology as danceroom Spectroscopy (created by David Glowacki and Phill Tew) based on energy fields and I also present the functions of X Box Kinect that relies on processing the light wave lengths. I use such performances as Transmission, Hidden Fields or The Movement of Air as my case studies but also as my inspiration to my practical project. All of the listed theatrical performances are based on an interactive visualization of the nano-world. In this part of my essay I also explain how biology and the unseen world of atoms around us is directly connected to art. This work has shown me an enormous potential living in science and technology, and has broaden my vision of how innovative the art can be. Moreover, it has given me a much better understanding of performing arts, the development of theatre, media and technology. Performing arts and technology can definitely grow not only individually but also together. Art represents our history told in music, dance steps, architecture, canvas, design and lyrics (to name few), which makes them very important for our cultural heritage. Throughout this project I could see how our civilization’s timeline and its history is printed out in our world’s art.