Material and Improvisation in the Formative Process (original) (raw)
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Preparing a Space: On the Philosophy and Aesthetics of Improvisation
This essay examines the philosophy and aesthetics i of improvisation as perceived both from within musical realms and beyond. The concept of improvisation is considered broadly, not in the area of any particular established practices-although my background is in sample--based music; that is, sound recordings collaged and altered through the use of technology-but rather as a living practice, whose very nature demands that it be viewed beyond limiting definitions. It will thus illustrate the ways in which musical creativity unfolds and informs all interdependent relationships between artist and artwork.
2019
All performance events, and particularly those of General Assembly of Interested Parties (GAIP) participated in from 2014 until 2019, constitute the work upon which I have based reports, extrapolations and interpretations in text, resulting in this dissertation. The original works, in varying physical modes and carried out in wide-ranging contexts, were undertaken for their own sake, as creative imperatives. That work has come and gone across time. Documentation from this activity is a new work and experience in itself (in the making or witnessing) even though its existence stems from the original event, it is freed of obligation to simply record what happened. Writing, directly referencing or stimulated by these performative events, exists as an improvisation upon and around memory of the original work. Much, but not all, of the vast quantity and array of original work was documented, to some extent. The format of documentation exists as video, still image, audio file and physical object. As the reader will discover, the digital file containing the dissertation text also contains digital images, external video links, and is a ‘designed space’ that takes notice of the aesthetic experience of reading text in combination with textual meaning. This approach is in keeping for an examination of an holistic creative practice. There are three audio files of source material from each year of data gathering (2014-16) and one video file that together with all linked media and text, constitute the thesis. (External links for the three audio files and video file can be found on pages 153 and 154 of this document).
Doing by Inventing the Way of Doing: Formativeness as the Linkage of Meaning and Matter
2013
The chapter proposes the concept of formativeness in order to interpret how materiality comes to matter within creative practices in craftsmanship. The concept of formativeness comes from aesthetic philosophy and it denotes the process by which phenomena (for instance an object or a work of art) acquire form within working practices. Formativeness is a process realized through a doing that while it does invents "the way of doing." This concept should be added to the lexicon of practice to denote not only the process whereby the form emerges from the encounter with materials, but also a specific type of knowing process situated within practical creativity. A practice-based approach to creative practices within artisan firms informed the empirical research on which the theoretical reflection is based. A contribution to the literature on organizational creativity is thus made by complementing it with a nonlinear vision of the creative process, where the following aspects of the formative process-sensible knowing, co-formation of ideas and materiality, experimenting with playfulness, translating and hybridizing materials, realization and repetition-may explain how meaning and matter are intrinsically entangled in forming.
The Moment of Performance: trace and materiality in improvisational music practice
This is a practice led research project. The purpose of the writing is to elucidate my experience and practice of improvisational music. I have written of personal background as context, how the subject is understood within the field, the place of observation, a reduction to just putting this with that, a practice that resembles life, performance anxieties, attention and engagement in the act, what is the purpose in making a sound, what connects me to the experience, what is the place of relationship, what is harmony, healing and community and how is it expressed in my practice. I am not concerned in this study with audience response as an isolated phenomenon. I have used the activities of GAIP, Current and field notes from music event experiences to elucidate responses to some of these areas of study. I have presented transcripts of conversations between members of THAT offering a textual derivative, exemplifying our mode of interaction. The experience of making music cannot be had through text, it can only be written around. I have chosen particular aspects of the experience to write around with the knowledge that I am neglecting much else. The creative work is presented on a USB flash drive as audio and video recordings of work undertaken through the research period. There will be a performance on February 26, 2014 to mark the culmination of the research project. Media from this performance will also be attached to this document.
A Conversation on the Aesthetics of Improvisation and Some Other Things
2015
Intrecciando biografia artistica e personale, nella conversazione con Rossella Mazzaglia qui pubblicata per la prima volta, Simone Forti ripercorre l’esperienza formativa con Anna Halprin, precisa le motivazioni che la spingono a trasferirsi a New York nel 1959 e illustra le frequentazioni ed esperienze creative dei primi anni Sessanta a confronto con il nuovo teatro, la musica e l’arte visiva. Mostra il passaggio a una concezione strutturata dell’improvvisazione, impiegata dall’artista nel corso degli anni e, contemporaneamente, da altri esponenti della danza postmoderna americana. L’intervista costituisce una fonte storiografica su Forti e sulla sperimentazione newyorchese dei primi anni Sessanta, ma anche uno spunto di riflessione inedito sulle affinita cinestesiche tra opere di diverso genere e disciplina. L’intervista e pubblicata in inglese e seguita da un commento di Rossella Mazzaglia in italiano.
Expecting the unexpected: Improvisation in art-based research
Art as Research: Opportunities and Challenges, 2013
When we think about research, we usually have in mind understanding what has already happened. The 're' in 'research' tells us that we are engaged in a backward glance, looking again at what has been in order to comprehend its significance. Improvisation, on the other hand, indicates action that looks forward to what has not yet been and what cannot be anticipated-the imprévu, that which cannot be seen in advance. How then can improvisation become a method for doing research? How can the still unknown show us the way to knowledge? Perhaps we can find a clue to this dilemma by looking at improvisation in the arts. In a sense, all art-making has an improvisational element-it aims to bring something new into being. Even works produced according to classical models give us a new way of seeing what is old. However, it is not until modernism that the new becomes the explicit goal of making art-in Ezra Pound's maxim for modern poetry: 'Make it new!' Partly this quest for the new is a consequence of the breakdown of tradition. In a period of rapid technological and social change, the rules according to which we act come into question. If traditional models can no longer be relied upon, then we must operate as if we were starting all over again. As the title of Pirandello's play puts it, 'Tonight We Improvise.' My own experience as a performing artist has been primarily in improvisational styles, including Lecoq-based physical theatre (clown, neutral mask, commedia dell'arte), improvised vocal expression in the Roy Hart tradition, and Butoh, Japanese post-modern dance. It is interesting to see what happens when highly trained performers come to workshops in these improvisational methods. They have much greater difficulty finding their way than do amateurs such as myself, since their established technique tends to inhibit them from discovering something completely new.
Improvisation and composition share a range of intertwining processes, rather than representing either end of a clear dichotomy. This becomes especially apparent when the elements of dynamics, spontaneous creativity, and premeditation are considered.
Improvisational Theatre. Art in the Making
This paper analyses improvisation as a special form of theatre, as performing art and as performance practice. The general objective of improvisational theatre is the spontaneous realisation of a threefold ideal: (1) entertaining performance; (2) dramatic art understood as comedy and tragedy; (3) original creativity. The individual practitioner is required to engage in an activity of transformation and transcendence. How the practise is conceived of determines to what extent it will be riddled with beginner's mistakes and professional fouls. In the rare moments the practise fully lives up to its ideal it constitutes a practical way of creating meaning and happiness. SCHJELBRED, C. (2014), "Improvisational Theatre. Art in the Making", in Philology and Performing Arts: A Challenge, Mattia Cavagna & Costantino Maeder eds., Louvain-la-Neuve, Presses universitaires de Louvain, pp. 59-68. Article written in January 2012, based on a presentation given by the author at the international conference Philology and Performing Arts: A Challenge, held at the Catholic University of Louvain, September 1-3, 2011. Peer reviewed and published in the proceedings, October 2014.