Dissemination
Pedro Alves da Veiga gives “Performanthropica” masterclass
Pedro Alves da Veiga, researcher at CIAC, is giving a masterclass focussed on the software art, performance and sound project entitled “Performanthropica”. The event, organised by Absonus Lab, will take place online on 12/04/2024, at 6:30 pm.
The work “Performanthropica”, developed as part of the online residency “Negentropy Nexus: Reimagining Electronic Opera — Art and Technology in the Post-Digital Age”, is an experimental meta-project that explores the aesthetic and conceptual intersection of hyperobjects, speculative futures and post-digital aesthetics. The project thrives on the boundaries between performative visual art and technology, exploring creative possibilities in the post-digital age.
At its core, “Performanthropica” is an interactive generative system fully programmed in Processing 4. The system is customisable at a software level, offering a flexible platform for artists and performers to interact with it in unique ways. What makes “Performanthropica” unique is its ability to respond in real time to the performer’s gestures, captured by the computer’s webcam, as well as by using the keyboard to manipulate various functions and parameters. This creates a dynamic and constantly evolving interaction between human and machine, where each performance becomes a singular artistic expression, unreproducible in its precise form. The system’s real-time responsiveness ensures that the performer’s gestures, movements and spoken words directly shape the visual output, generating a continuous dialogue between the performer and the work of art.
The project is situated in the speculative landscapes of hyperobjects — entities that transcend human understanding and time scales — inviting performers and audiences to contemplate the larger, interconnected systems in which we exist. Post-digital aesthetics are central to this work, recognising the saturation of digital technologies, augmented images and glitches in contemporary culture, while going beyond their superficial applications to explore deeper, more speculative engagements with poetry and self-expression.
By integrating spoken word performance with an algorithmically generated environment, “Performanthropica” proposes new ways of redefining contemporary performance. It challenges conventional notions of fixed compositions or written narratives, replacing them with a fluid performative space where art, technology and human presence continually redefine each other. This project offers an innovative approach to performance art, suggesting new modes of expression and interaction in a rapidly evolving digital and post-digital world.
As a proof of concept/pilot for “Performanthropica”, the author presents “Anacreontic”, a performative interpretation of the 17th century English lyric poet and clergyman Robert Herrick.
The masterclass will take place on December 4th, 2024 at 6.30 pm, link (here).
Technical aspects
Media: interactive digital performative system, providing a visual flow
Sound: live sound + processed sound
Video: real-time video processing and generative animation
Image: real-time processed captures and image synthesis
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)