Essays On Artistic Works

 

Performance Analysis 

 

“NVSBL” : ESZTER SALAMON

 

NVSBL is purely an experimental work and I often look into works and pieces in terms of duration and content and NVSBL is obviously a unique piece of work I have ever seen. It really takes a lot of patience and practice to perform such works, It's interesting to see stillness moving through time and space. it does create space for Imagination and fantasies as bodies speak a movement language through various positions and patterns creating expectations , not movement orientated but through action less meaningful language, for eg. speaking through silence which is quite loud and strong.

 

We see darkness, bodies, stillness, movement, simplicity, and sensation. We experience through perceptions of time and space. There is a space which is created between movements, time is created through stillness and it does becomes challenging for our mind to process and stay focussed but rather we touch into our memories, travel back and forth with images and stories, identifying various feelings on different levels created through visual impulses.

 

It does reminds me of John Cage’s ‘Quiet Pieces’ he made in the early, where the word silence doesn't make sense at all because silence doesn't stay silence. Mind speaks, body stays in stillness and movement is created as one starts to move from one place to another which is hardly recognisable as we experience. Feelings  become reality in this situation. It does make a huge difference watching it in the auditorium with live audience. It creates an atmosphere and sensuality towards the space and energy created . It’s very interesting in the beginning where everything starts with a long dark pause and then the appearance of bodies in stillness and positions as it creates space for  movement to happen through expectations and desires. 

 

A moment is created which was expressed through bodies with stillness every second, as bodies are going through natural movement changes and it seems like every moment is created with flow and through natural movement, which changes with our bodies , going from one position to other, which may have been created through feelings like tiredness, exhaustion, reflexes and impulses which bodies experience when in front of a certain situation like a stage or a public area. It is obvious for the body to react according to the environment and to get triggered by senses. To experience movement sometimes it finds stillness like a roller coster ride where it needs to stop moving to experience the movement and activate senses to find excitement.

 

Movement is evolutionary and it does go through changes moving from one place to an other, going through feelings, experiencing things and expressing every moment at a physical level. Feelings become facts. For example In a spiritual practice this situation is thoroughly studied and practiced, in every culture and religion there is always been certain kind of practice or ritual where stillness is explored and practised to create space for transformation. 

 

In this work there is a very clear understanding for movement practitioners to go through this situation where the fun factor is creating a moment like blowing up a balloon which becomes more like pin points connecting the moments from one to the other to performers as well as audience. This becomes a reference for the audience to connect the dots, where these situations become memorable and recognisable. It does have a very strong impact with the way we see things and perceive in normal lives. What I see is our own reflection and what we experience is our perceptions about things , object and people. 

 

It was a nice experience watching this video and would like to thank Eszter Salamon for making this work which has so much potential and valuable information. 

 

MUSIC ESSAY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music: Mauricio KAGEL: Tango Aleman

Composers. Ilkin Alpay, Soprano; Nazlı Avcı, violin; Gamze Kırtıl, piano; Tolga Salman, Bandoneon

 

First time I heard this music and I had to replay and revisit few times. It's a complex composition and also detailed as the composers have a very clear understanding with the scores and variations. Surely it has been experimented several times before execution. I am devoted to such kind of music even though I work a lot with improvised music. There is an openness to this work and does take us into a journey where the sound is created through images, stories, skills and practice. In fact it touches the skin of the performer through vibrations and intensity.

 

Listening to this music creates very strong feelings and movement which is very influential to create work and practice . There is so much to listen and feel, it makes me realise how sound can have such a strong deep impact in our lives, in the performance, in our life style , not just creating but recreating, re imagining, feeling it again and again. This work has unique quality combined with variations like stillness , fast , slow, loud, soft, high sound and low sounds which made me think of john cage who once said low sound triggers blood circulation and high sound activates nervous system in our bodies.

 

Experience stays weather we want it or not. In terms of music it stays in combination and continuity. Sound is everywhere and the choices we make with listening is what we are according to our experience. It allows us to go deeper into the understanding of what we feel and what changes we experience through listening to the sound. Every sound , every music and choice we make has a deeper impact on our bodies. Space is filled with sound in every room and then outside the room, a sound  we hear when we move even in stillness or sound which moves us. Awareness of sound has similar principles as awareness of space. Sound can travel through walls, through pipes, through distance, it does have a capacity to bring back feelings and memories like how we feel when we listen to old songs. 

 

Music creates space and through morphology ( how it sounds, how it begins, how it proceeds and fades) it changes, through scores and through composition, creating new possibilities and exploring new things. This music is very unique in terms of quality and the musicians were skilled and were able to perform with very clear precision. Coming from an Indian dance scenario, its always interesting to see how culture and region have influenced the music and art. I see a very classical approach to this work and as an artist its very interesting and willing to invest time to understanding and study. 

 

In this work there is a space for choices , finding moments of stillness, emptiness with perfect timing and movement through feelings and flow, flow i should say its in the process when it goes through variations, there is a waiting , there is a feeling of relationship, a feeling of emptiness, a feeling with clear intention. An echo with certain rhythm and expression, repetitions are the key factors of this work, every moment is recreated and repetitions give space for re-inventing emotions or changed feelings, like how emptiness creates space, repetitions creates possibility to see things in a new perspective and new approach. A combination of various incidents or details from the past comes back  and creates moments hence creating a new experience and approach , touching the past which is filled with accumulated information passing through various experiences which is bringing back memories into a present moment. This work is an experience which touches deeply and thoroughly.

 

I would like to thank the musicians , who worked on this project and gave me an experience of writing this essay.