Abstract
Generative art can be used for creating complex multisensory and multimedia experiences within pre-determined aesthetic parameters, characteristic of the performing arts and remarkably suitable to address Moholy-Nagy’s Theatre of Totality vision. In generative artworks the artist will usually take on the role of an experience framework designer, and the system evolves freely within that framework and its defined aesthetic boundaries. Most generative art impacts visual arts, music and literature, but there does not seem to be any relevant work exploring the cross-medium potential, and one could confidently state that most generative art outcomes are abstract and visual, or audio. It is the goal of this article to propose a model for the creation of generative performances within the Theatre of Totality’s scope, derived from stochastic Lindenmayer systems, where mapping techniques are proposed to address the seven variables addressed by Moholy-Nagy: light, space, plane, form, motion, sound and man (“man” is replaced in this article with “human”, except where quoting from the author), with all the inherent complexities.
Highlights
There are several definitions of generative art (Galanter, 2014; McCormack et al, 2014) that classify it according to media, methodologies or genres, such as systems art, interactive art, algorithmic art, OpArt, BioArt, evolutionary art, among others
The underlying algorithm is used to combine structure with randomness, as one iteration becomes the seed for the one, resulting in a seemingly infinite sequence of states or combinations, but all within a certain aesthetic boundary defined by the artist/programmer (Dorin, 2013)
This utilization of man must be clearly differentiated from his appearance heretofore in traditional theatre. While there he was only the interpreter of a literarily conceived individual or type, in the new Theatre of Totality he will use the spiritual and physical means at his disposal productively and from his own initiative submit to the over-all action process. (...) The Theatre of Totality with its multifarious complexities of light, space, plane, form, motion, sound, man – and with all the possibilities for varying and combining these elements – must be an organism.” (Schlemmer, Moholy-Nagy & Molnár, 1961). This multifunctional organism, with several different vectors of action and expression, shares some similarities with Deleuze and Guattari’s Body without Organs (BwO): “The body without organs is an egg: it is crisscrossed with axes and thresholds, with latitudes and longitudes and geodesic lines, traversed by gradients marking the transitions and the becomings, the destinations of the subject developing along these particular vectors” (Deleuze & Guattari, 1988)
Summary
There are several definitions of generative art (Galanter, 2014; McCormack et al, 2014) that classify it according to media, methodologies or genres, such as systems art, interactive art, algorithmic art, OpArt, BioArt, evolutionary art, among others. (...) The Theatre of Totality with its multifarious complexities of light, space, plane, form, motion, sound, man – and with all the possibilities for varying and combining these elements – must be an organism.” (Schlemmer, Moholy-Nagy & Molnár, 1961) This multifunctional organism, with several different vectors of action and expression, shares some similarities with Deleuze and Guattari’s Body without Organs (BwO): “The body without organs is an egg: it is crisscrossed with axes and thresholds, with latitudes and longitudes and geodesic lines, traversed by gradients marking the transitions and the becomings, the destinations of the subject developing along these particular vectors” (Deleuze & Guattari, 1988). In order to bring generative art and the Theatre of Totality together, a complex system is needed to generate and map all the relevant information that can be used to create a performance: light, space, form, motion, sound, music, emotion, action, speech, interaction. There are ways to make such systems behave in more interesting manners
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