Transdisciplinarity: A Canadian Tradition
Proud Canadian coming through!
Shameless.
In Canada (in particular Montreal) we have a great tradition of transdisciplinating in the arts, especially between the fields of dance/movement and technology. While going down the rabbit hole that is the National Film Board’s website, I came across these gems.
!!ACHTUNG!! These videos are from the future. Proceed with caution…
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1) Pas de deux, Norman McLaren, 1968, 13m 22s
Norman McLaren moved to Canada in his late 20’s as a filmmaker/ animator from Scotland. You can wiki him to read his story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McLaren . I remember watching this film as a young person and being dumbfounded. How did he do this? Painstakingly I guess.
image from NFB site
2) Ni scène ni coulisses, Denis Poulin, 1978, 9 min 41 s
image from NFB site
3) ORA, ONFB, 2011, 15m 35s
This one is INSANELY innovative!!! (or just insane).
I mean, infrared cameras on loan from Lockheed Martin (!!!), dry ice, stellar imagery, beautiful movement…Oh Canadaaaaaa!
How does this topic relate to the work I am doing now?
Aesthetically, this high contrast look runs through a lot of the work I do. I would love it if everyone could switch with their shadow or have an inner gamma filter they could turn on whenever they wanted to.
Artistically, I’m still a dancer at heart and I feel as though it’s still one of the most collaborative interdisciplinary mediums out there. If I look for innovation, I don’t turn solely to contemporary art world but also to the dance world (or the circus).