Synchronous Objects Media Release
APRIL 1 LAUNCH ANNOUNCED FOR WEB PROJECT SYNCHRONOUS OBJECTS
FOR ONE FLAT THING REPRODUCED BY WILLIAM FORSYTHE, MARIA PALAZZI,
AND NORAH ZUNIGA SHAW
Columbus, OH—The Ohio State University and choreographer William Forsythe announce the April 1, 2009 launch of the interactive web project, Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced. Focusing on Forsythe’s complex ensemble dance One Flat Thing, reproduced, the project presents an original collection of screen-based visualizations (video, digital artwork, animation, and interactive graphics) that reveal interlocking systems of organization in the choreography. The project aims to appeal to a broad public from diverse fields including but not limited to dance. Forsythe explains, “The project starts from the recognition that choreography is an organizational practice that employs fundamental creative strategies relevant to many other domains.”
Synchronous Objects will be available online to the public on April 1, 2009 at:
synchronousobjects.osu.edu
A symposium to celebrate the launch of the project will be held at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH at 3 pm on April 1 (concurrent with the opening of the Wexner Center exhibition William Forsythe: Transfigurations). For international audiences, the symposium participants will contribute to an e-symposium online April 1. A subsequent launch event will occur in Berlin at Tanzplan Deutschland (UFERSTUDIOS – Studio 1, Uferstraße 23) at 11 am on April 8.
The project is the result of a collaboration between The Forsythe Company, based in Germany, and researchers at The Ohio State University from design, dance, computer science, geography, statistics and architecture who work together at OSU’s Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD). Creative Directors William Forsythe, Maria Palazzi (ACCAD/Department of Design), and Norah Zuniga Shaw (ACCAD/Department of Dance) describe the research as a process in which choreographic ideas are the source of information for the composition of unique visual objects. These objects enable the ideas in the choreography to be quickly grasped in their entirety and suggest new interpretations.
“This process of transformation from a dance to a choreographic object requires cross-disciplinary collaboration, and in our community at ACCAD we have found that thinking in this way makes space for new connections between art and science, practice and theory,” explains Zuniga Shaw. Adds Palazzi: “Animation is the core expressive technique that articulates Forsythe’s choreographic intention to the viewer. Artists and scientists working collaboratively on this project used animation techniques such as traditional keyframing, algorithmic and generative approaches to create animation and interactive experiences that reveal Forsythe’s strategies and re-imagine what this dance can look like. These animated manifestations (traces, scores, maps) visualize information in new ways, as an evolving viable research space and as a departure point for conversation and further discussion.”
Forsythe, formerly the director of the Frankfurt Ballet (Germany) and now The Forsythe Company is recognized for his innovation in classical ballet. He continues to explore innovation in dance, often extending his choreographic process into new manifestations including installations and the expressive digital media tools at the center of this new collaborative project. The collaboration with the ACCAD/Dance team emerged out of Forsythe’s interest in working in an interdisciplinary research environment. He explains, “I was drawn to Ohio State because of the intense focus on interrelation between artists and scientists at ACCAD and the unique significance of dance in that community.”
The Ohio State University is the perfect place for these interdisciplinary researchers to join forces for the Forsythe initiative. E. Gordon Gee, President of Ohio State, says,
“William Forsythe’s multi-disciplinary, media-blending work is perfectly suited for exhibition and exploration at Ohio State. The University’s unmatched academic breadth enables students, faculty, staff, and the public to study and experience Mr. Forsythe’s thought-provoking work through several different lenses.”
The Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) at Ohio State is a leading academic center for interdisciplinary teaching and research in computer graphics and visualization. The Department of Dance is recognized nationally and internationally for its leadership in choreography, performance, dance documentation, and dance and technology.
Synchronous Objects is the first phase of Motion Bank, an overarching initiative, that Forsythe envisions will become accessible repository of ideas developed through choreographic investigation.
For more information about Synchronous Objects go to http://synchronousobjects.osu.edu
Media contact:
Pat Riechel, (614) 292-5171 or riechel.2@osu.edu
Victoria Ellwood, (614) 292-6299 or ellwood.1@osu.edu
Mechthiild Rühl, +49 (0) 69 212-37179 or mechthild.ruehl@theforsythecompany.de
Funding is provided by The Forsythe Company, The Forsythe Foundation, The Ohio State University Office of Research, Rotterdamse Dansacademie/Codarts, and Tanzplan Deutschland, an initiative created by the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The Forsythe Company is supported by the city of Dresden and the state of Saxony as well as the city of Frankfurt am Main and the state of Hesse. The Forsythe Company is also supported by Mrs. Susanne Klatten. Additional support by Ernst & Young.