I-Cinema Reflection

Through my icinema experience I was able to engage with Auslander’s theory of liveness on a much more critical level, this was because the performances such as Eavesdrop and the Wooster group’s "There is still…time brother” demonstrated the intricate systems and levels involved in mediatized viewing experiences. Although these performances weren’t exactly live I felt that they were still relevant to Auslander’s theory that:

“Live performance has become the means by which mediatized representations are naturalized, according to a simple logic that appeals to our nostalgia for what we assumed was the im-mediate: if the mediatized image can be recreated in a live setting, it must have been “real” to begin with. The schema resolves (or rather, fails to resolve) into an impossible oscillation between the two poles of what once seemed a clear opposition: whereas media performance derives its authority from its reference to the live or the real, the live now derives its authority from its reference to the mediatized, which derives it’s authority from the reference to the live etc.” (Auslnder, 38-39, 1999)

The Wooster group’s “There is still…time Brother” was interesting because I felt it gave me insight to Auslanders theory of liveness as the performers purposefully showed the numerous technologies employed within their performance, they went on to talk about them and how they were used. This made me contemplate the way I view performances and the way my eye is drawn to the mediatized due to my media privileged lifestyle. I felt this worked not only as a performance but also as a type of demonstration.

For me the icinema experience was intensely immersive, I found myself completely engrossed with the virtual environment presented within the 360-degree viewing environment. Place-Hampi, Place-Urbanity and Double District were perhaps the most successful in the immersive experience. Place-Hampi’s use of real world landscapes allowed me to experience a part of the world I have never been before, I imagine that with time this could become travel of the future as people could experience these remote locations without the expanse and time required to physically travel. The only I issues I found were the layering of the landscapes used to create the 3D affect made me feel nauseous and the insertion of the mythical beings took way from the realness the experience. Place-Urbanity had a very similar affect over me, again I felt transported to a real place, though this time the use of movement heightened the thrill.

Double District again was very immersive, though in a different way. I felt almost hypnotized by the larger than life dancers body as they danced around me. It was far more engaging than any live dance performance I have previously attended, as it created an intimacy through size and proximity unattainable by stage and theatre performances.

Eavesdrop made me contemplate Auslander’s theory of liveness, the way live now derives its authority from its reference to the mediatized, which derives it’s authority from the reference to the live etc. I felt this performance was somehow situated in the middle of the two oppositions. The interactive element of this piece brought a new level of immersion to the experience, as the ability to choose the conversation to listen to created intimacy and heightened the reality. This was perhaps my favorite icinema performance because I found it extremely compelling, I wish I had been able to view it many more times and hear all the characters full stories and how they are connected to one another.

T_Visionarium was very different to everything else shown. It appeared very unique as an artwork. The most interesting part for me was the way the performative element was shifted from actor or dancer to the audience member/participant through interactivity. T_Visionarium was another piece I would have liked to have viewed for longer as I was completely engulfed by the immersive experience and compellable by my contemplation of the endless possibilities it possessed through it’s interactive ability.