Check out this amazing TED Talk by the Handspring Puppet Company the people behind the extraordinary production, War Horse. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, scoot through to about the 9 minute mark to see the horse in action - it will take your breath away.
I've recently subscribed to the New York Times technology blog and already I feel better informed! A Parent's Struggle With A Child's iPad Addiction got me thinking about different ways kids learn and express their creativity and the comment trail led me to MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten where I found this fantastic program called, 'Singing Fingers'. Have you heard about this? Check out the clip above - amazing.
Powerhouse have just completed a very interesting project called China Heart, a mobile app they describe as a 'locative mobile story/ game that is part love story, part mystery...meshing video, real-world art installation and performance with a rich GPS gaming experience' which also 'takes players on a walking tour of significant locations in Sydney's Chinatown'. I think we're going to see a lot more of this type of project. If you're intersted in how they made it all happen there's a detailed post here.
...and finally, I loved this Gen X ode to the passing of an era, The Fading Sounds of Analogue Technology (although I really don't miss that modem connection screech!).
Can something as ephemeral as performance really ever be 'captured' or it really just a case of trying to nail jelly to the wall? Having been personally involved (often unsuccessfully) in trying to convince performers, directors, musicians and unions of the importance of preserving their archival performance footage I know by heart all the excuses for not doing so.
'It was only a dress rehearsal not a real performance'
'It was only a single camera shoot',
'It doesn't capture the spirit of the performance',
'You'll never get such and such to sign a release form'
While I sympathise with these concerns I'm glad to see that there are three exciting digital projects out there at the moment trying to resolve some of these issues.
The first is the remarkable Digital Theatre featuring performances the Royal Court Theatre,Young Vic and Almeida Theatre among others. If you haven't already read it this article in The Age recently shows just how far we have come in being able to document live perfomance in a real and meaningful way.
Another interesting site using digital technology to document/discuss theatre in a different way is Theatre VOICE . The site was set up in 2003 in association with the Theatre Museum at the V&A and features 100s of audio recordings about theatre in the UK through the eyes of critics and theatre practitioners.
Closer to home, the Performing Arts Collection is involved in a three year ARC Linkage project that aims to 'create and analyse an experimental prototype for an online participatory ‘living archive’, built upon the Circus Oz collection of performance and rehearsal video documentation, to drive innovations in repertoire development, performance research and audience interaction'.
It's been a while between drinks but here are a couple of interesting projects and sites I've come across lately...
Have you heard about this exhibition? We're quite excited about it in Collections. It's called 'Move: Choreographing You - Art and Dance' and it's on at the Hayward Gallery in London. Using interactive sculptures and installations this show explores the intersection of dance and art over the past 50 years by encouraging people to actually dance there way through the exhibition.You can check out more about the show at this great microsite.
Caboodle is a fun kids/museums/digital project.You can read more about it here and here but basically it's a great way of getting kids invloved with collections by visiting museums, talking to curators, taking photos and uploading them to the Caboodle site. They can also become part of an online club and it is used both by schools and individuals. Kids don't have to interact with collections they can also draw, build, find something they want to photograph and upload.
The site where I found out about Caboodle is also worth a look. It's called Culture24 and it's run by a not-for-profit group working across the areas of arts, heritage, education and tourism in the UK. If you haven't come across it before it's definately worth exploring and being inspired.
Glowdoodle @ Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum
Here's a few interesting bits and pieces I've found in my travels through the Interweb this week:
Zeum: San Francisco's Children's Museum have some great public programs not unlike those offered by the Digital Learning Hub (check out the Music Video Field Trip). Their new program Glowdoodle also has me intrigued. They have a lively presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Yelp and YouTube and take the 3Cs of 21st century literacy - Creativity, Collaboration and Commuication - very seriously.
This useful page from MIT TechTV which explains why people should use royalty-free music for their videos and where they can get it.
If I was trying to raise money for a show I'd want Ben Cameron on my team. He is a true lover of the arts both high and low and he's passionate about the live performing arts even in a world that seems to be increasingly over-run by the digital and the virtual. If you can find 12 minutes in your day I really recommend that you listen to what he has to say.
