ABOVE: "How Its Going: Crutches" Text and Line Art by Bill Shannon
What was the first crutch? It was not the first recorded crutch. It was not the first staff. The first crutch was before it all. It was a branch. A branch grabbed on impulse to survive a moment, to get through a threatening situation. The first crutch was a life and death situation. The first crutch was born of a moment when a human, under threat from a predator, impulsively invented a tool to assist their own mobility. Crutches at their essence are rooted in survival. Crutches are a sign that the person using the crutches is likely the weakest in the pack. Crutches, in short, equal death. That survival response to seeing crutches is still with us today, at the very core of our innate survival instinct. Mortality symbolized in an object that one uses to move their body. The first crutch, before it was a crutch, was a random branch from a tree that had fallen to the ground. It was laying in a specific place, sufficiently thick but not too thick, the correct length, not too long or too short. Just the right length to work for the human that happened to pick it up.(cont.)
I keep moving on to new iterations of the wearable mask while in development of a new interdisciplinary dance theater piece, "TouchUpdate." This video is edited in such a way to share with viewers exactly how my work in dance performance, choreography, street performance, video compositing, video installation and video wearables all are interconnected.
MANCC (pronounced man-see) is the only national center for choreography in the world located in a major research institution, and operates from one of the premiere dance facilities in the United States. The Center is embedded within The Florida State University School of Dance, and offers unparalleled opportunities for contemporary choreographers to hone their artistic practice and develop new work inside a creative community.
"Touch Update" a new work exploring contemporary modes of digital vs. interpersonal representation and physicality to Premiere at Kelly Strayhorn Theater Pittsburgh May 11,12 2018 photo: Chris Cameron 2017 This project support by New England Foundation of The Arts National Dance Production Fund and Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative and The National Performance Network
Upcoming Fall 2016 Events
Sept. 2nd, 2016 9pm Brooklyn, New York The New York Clown Theater Festival
Sept. 10th, 2016 12 - 7 pm Philadelphia, PA Raphstravaganza: The Kinetic Experience
Sept. 24th and 25th, Oct. 1st and 2nd San Diego, California Trolley Dances
ABOVE: Bill Shannon's Wearable Video Mapped Mask Photo. Garrett Jones MadMapper: Neil Henke
In depth interviews with videos and making of images linked below
ProjectionMapping.org http://projection-mapping.org/wearable-projection-mapping-mask/
Vice: The Creators Project
http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/the-wearable-projection-mapped-m...
Guardian UK http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/sep/10/the-man-in-the-digital...
BELOW: playing in the studio in the run up to the opening
"Little Friends" - Bill Shannon 2013 12guage brass plate w/patina cut and formed 3"x2"
This post is intended to be a roundup of recent activities and not the final word on any of the works here.
ABOVE: "Liquid Light" Site Specific Video and Performance at Long Pond, Wellfleet MA presented as a part of Fleetmoves Dance Festival 2013. photo by Whitney Brown. This work focused on the kinetic nature of the video rig and its placement in a large body of water to allow for a live birdseye view of my continuous circuitous performance in the water for the camera above. I wanted to show and perform the fluidity of my many years of swimming to the audience on the shore. The only sport of my childhood years that was medically approved. "Dancer in Chair" and new street persona after the jump.
My plate is full this year with multiple ongoing projects. The Rex "project" mentioned below several months ago has stabilized after 6 months of staggeringly little sleep ( or awake-ness ) and I am happy to share with you that the Rexy continues to payoff in a myriad of very small beautiful ways and I am BACK!
ABOVE: Here is a quick video of a wearable mobile video prop I made from screen scraps, baling wire, electrical tape, a micro projector and a microcamera. I made this prop to test the viability of a more fleshed out method of fabricating a lighter weight version of my "Invisible Series" that is meant to function in a more mobile-esque manner. Thanks to James Clotfelter on the fabrication assist and Ravish Momin drum sounds.
BELOW: detail of headmount and microcamera
ABOVE: more fabrication details, lots of black gaff to hide any reflections
ABOVE: Video Still
ABOVE: I know I have posted several versions of this video work however I am preparing a new shoot and am editing it in different ways to try and figure out the best strategy for the live shoot. Some lighting issues and the slight jiggle of the rig are two problems that will be solved in the next version of this series ( as opposed to the next edit of the existing series) Hang on to the end for some extras and B-Roll stuff.
I have been taking lots of pictures long before the digital era when I was given a Kodak instamatic rectangular black box. Now with the ability to share it has changed the game for me. In earlier years a contact sheet was printed negatives stored away and that was it. If an image was particularly well done I would give it to my friend who worked at a lab and he would print them 8 by 10 color on the side for free. Each image now is a passing thought whereas before it was a work that earned its right to be printed. I love photography. I am not a photgrapher.
“Through Shannon Public Works*, I plan on reconciling the gap between what I feel is possible in experiencing street performances and what audiences up until this moment have been able to experience. The three interrelated projects making up Shannon Public Works are connected by the conceptual belief that a naturally-occurring street environment is imposed upon by an audience to the extent that a virtual proscenium is manifested and the performance is thereby isolated from the very environment it is meant to exist within. The efforts made in Shannon Public Works address this conceptual belief and are designed to allow an audience to watch a performance in the street while preserving the integrity of the landscape. In short, I wish for audiences to see as I see and walk as I walk but at the same time allow me space to share without being in the context of their gaze.”