Material Led Process︎︎︎
This process is in development and has been tested with different materials into choreographic, sound and video works.
MATERIAL-LED COLLABORATIVE METHOD TEMPLATE (MCMT):
STAGE 1 | EKPHRASIS: Vigorously study and describe the material. Before touching or moving it, observe the matter closely, devotionally, and compile an ekphrastic collection of descriptions.
STAGE 2 | ACTION/KINAESTHETIC: Begin to haptically engage with the material, noting its texture, mass, and feel on the body. Approach movement with a sense of play and attention to conjunctions- locomoting along, through, above, below, with, apart from…the material. Return to your ekphrasis writing and add new observations.
STAGE 3 | TRANSFORMATION: Explore how the material can compositionally change. Fold, stretch, freeze, burn, blow, drop, crush, etc. Again, notate observations of how and if the matter alters its form under various conditions.
STAGE 4 | ROOT: Research the origins of the material- where on the planet is the matter derived from, how did it get here, what are the historical, political, and social contexts this material has found itself situated in, then and now?
STAGE 5 | DISTILLATION: Center around key terms/images/patterns that resonate or consistently reemerge throughout the process. What ideas speak to the spirit of the material, to the rising interests of this collaborative process? Sharpen and refine the pathways that are most compelling to the team.
STAGE 6 | MATERIAL GENERATION: Explore, develop, and revise movement motifs and textile fabrications. Work back and forth between choreographic and wearables designs to emphasize an impacting approach across dance, body, and non-human matter. Consider other interacting material components, including sound, scenography, location, lighting, and public engagement.
MATERIAL-LED COLLABORATIVE METHOD TEMPLATE (MCMT):
STAGE 1 | EKPHRASIS: Vigorously study and describe the material. Before touching or moving it, observe the matter closely, devotionally, and compile an ekphrastic collection of descriptions.
STAGE 2 | ACTION/KINAESTHETIC: Begin to haptically engage with the material, noting its texture, mass, and feel on the body. Approach movement with a sense of play and attention to conjunctions- locomoting along, through, above, below, with, apart from…the material. Return to your ekphrasis writing and add new observations.
STAGE 3 | TRANSFORMATION: Explore how the material can compositionally change. Fold, stretch, freeze, burn, blow, drop, crush, etc. Again, notate observations of how and if the matter alters its form under various conditions.
STAGE 4 | ROOT: Research the origins of the material- where on the planet is the matter derived from, how did it get here, what are the historical, political, and social contexts this material has found itself situated in, then and now?
STAGE 5 | DISTILLATION: Center around key terms/images/patterns that resonate or consistently reemerge throughout the process. What ideas speak to the spirit of the material, to the rising interests of this collaborative process? Sharpen and refine the pathways that are most compelling to the team.
STAGE 6 | MATERIAL GENERATION: Explore, develop, and revise movement motifs and textile fabrications. Work back and forth between choreographic and wearables designs to emphasize an impacting approach across dance, body, and non-human matter. Consider other interacting material components, including sound, scenography, location, lighting, and public engagement.
︎︎︎Rob Kitsos and Meagan Woods
Welcome to mapping collaboration, a toolbox for workshopping and creating across disciplines...
In spite of a long history of interdisciplinary creation, from our earliest recorded arts to our present moment, artistic pedagogy has created divisions between disciplines. This has left artists in a "post-Babel" condition where we don't share the same language and definitions. It’s also encouraged artists to develop practices for devising, creating and composing work that are distinct to their disciplines.
In spite of a long history of interdisciplinary creation, from our earliest recorded arts to our present moment, artistic pedagogy has created divisions between disciplines. This has left artists in a "post-Babel" condition where we don't share the same language and definitions. It’s also encouraged artists to develop practices for devising, creating and composing work that are distinct to their disciplines.
The inspiration for this project came from faculty and students at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts where BFA, MFA and PhD programs in Dance, Theatre Production and Design, Visual Art, Film, and Music and Sound all work together in studio settings and playfully experiment with processes of art-making.
We wanted to create a database of projects, assignments and theory that we collect inside the studio and from research happening in other places. We are curious about how we collaborate and how structures reoccur, translate and deviate from one discipline to another.
Composition is central to these processes and offers a base for our approaches and experiments. We are excited about what our students are doing and inspired by the new languages in contemporary art and performance we continue to see develop.
︎︎︎select a category above to build assignments, learn more about how artists process ideas across disciplines and to create a collaborative process of your own
︎︎︎these tools are collected and used in workshops and classes; some are resources from artists; some are quotes about art-making and how bodies think and listen; others are ideas to expand and disrupt your own training and processes.
︎︎︎Each idea is intentially short- and not meant to be executed as written, but to be adapted to your own practice and specific project/context. Some may be taken in parts or combined with others to spark new ways of training and making together.
︎︎︎submit your own ideas and tools so we can keep building this site!
︎︎︎select a category above to build assignments, learn more about how artists process ideas across disciplines and to create a collaborative process of your own
︎︎︎these tools are collected and used in workshops and classes; some are resources from artists; some are quotes about art-making and how bodies think and listen; others are ideas to expand and disrupt your own training and processes.
︎︎︎Each idea is intentially short- and not meant to be executed as written, but to be adapted to your own practice and specific project/context. Some may be taken in parts or combined with others to spark new ways of training and making together.
︎︎︎submit your own ideas and tools so we can keep building this site!
