![]() ![]() Occupy Sandy was our only guide, and a few friends and I drove out to Far Rockaway with supplies and volunteered in one of the most hard hit areas that didn’t have restored services for weeks. But I knew that many people at the edges of the outer Burroughs were much worse off than us. The whole neighborhood felt erie, abandoned and cut off from the rest of the city north of 14th street, that went business as usual. No cell phone, water to drink or flush the toilet with, food went spoiled in the fridge, subway and bus services suspended, streets were dark and quiet at night. I live and work in Manhattan's Lower East Side, where we were without electricity and running water for 5 days. The idea for Bending the Arc finds it root in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Here, this ephemeral material is used to manifest the significance of every voice and emphasize the powerful tide of change that occurs when we come together. ![]() This collective power is projected onto smoke, which is often associated with tear gas, bombs, or fire in periods of social unrest, warfare, and rioting. Their individual and collective voices become the vehicle for a visible transformation. This work aims to exemplify the process of affecting change in collaboration with the audience. However, many landmarks in social change have been ignited by a single action followed by strings of actions, eventually creating a force that courses into a movement. In the complex, dynamic and ever-shifting social landscape, individual choices and actions can seem too minute to alter powerful historical currents. The light of the arc remains in the hearts of the viewers and performers and bursts into the universe, reaching long towards a justice we all yearn for. The more powerful the voices, the brighter and more brilliant the arc will be.Īt the end of the song, smoke dissipates and the projected light fades from view. ![]() ![]() The flat line projected onto the smoke screen begins to dance and vibrate in response, bending towards a perfect arc. Live audience is invited to sing along in unison. The recorded voices of participants through the night are organized, re-arranged, and synthesized into the melody of Bending the Arc that is being played back live from a program called Granular Sampler, especially created for the project. As the choir begins to sing Bending the Arc, a line of smoke rises from the top of the wall towards the night sky, revealing a projected flat line that is visually affected by the singing of the singers. These voices are recorded into a database to be played back during the final event.Īt the midnight finale, recording artist, composer and producer Jeryl Bright and rapper RDK join Georgia Institute of Technology choir on the field to perform the specially commissioned song Bending the Arc, composed by Jeryl Bright, for the audience. Participants can address the microphone individually or in groups. The effect is immediately visible to the speaker and audience. A more powerful delivery will make a bigger impact on the movement of the line. As the participant speaks, sings or shouts into the microphone, the projected line responds by vibrating, shifting, warping or bending, in accordance with the raw voice’s volume, pitch, rhythm, brightness, duration, and other qualities. Each audio input is recorded and collected into a database. Throughout the evening of Flux Night 2015, visitors are invited to speak their inner voice into a set of eight un-amplified microphones that stands in the middle of a field, facing a wall that has a simple straight white line projected onto it. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” -MLK Jr. You Can't Always See Where You Are Going.Who Would Have Expected to Encounter Ni.The Republic of China Centennial Grand C.Nature and Man in Rhapsody of Light at t.Dodo with One Hundred Meeps Walking in t. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |