Perceptions of Audience on Soundpainting Performance

Abstract

Today, contemporary music emerges as an experimental phenomenon trapped in the laboratory environment rather than an element of skill. Modern music, where principles such as specialism and rationality are determinative, has become difficult to understand not only for performers who carry it on the stage but also for today's audience. One of the works done in recent years is Soundpainting, which is based on improvisation and allows everyone to do this stage art. Soundpainting is the multidisciplinary live composing sign language for Musicians, Dancers, Actors and Visual Artists. Presently the language comprises more than 1750 gestures that are signed by the Soundpainter to indicate the type of material desired of the performers. The Soundpainter (the composer) standing in front (usually) of the group communicates a series of signs using hand and body gestures indicating specific and/or aleatoric material to be performed by the group. The Soundpainter develops the responses of the performers, molding and shaping them into the composition. In this research, it is aimed to determine the perceptions of the audiences who are listeners in a Soundpainting performance and at the same time performers in Soundpainting performance. The specify of this perception is important in terms of determine the attitude of the listeners fort he first time involved in the Soundpainting performance as well as bringing solutions to the problem of music and alienation from a different point of view.