"WW Sessions / Are We Electric?" is the most recent development in WW (Wires + Waves) : it is the first in a series of durational performances, wherein the performer ostensibly performs the intellectual process of translation/distillation—the body as conduit—seeking to understand any quantifiable reasoning behind linguistic actions, trying to connect seemingly disparate ideas in order to arrive at a new way of understanding communication, its relationship to form, existence, and the human experience—ultimately absence and cognitive loss. (?) While the initial run of WW Sessions involved no contact mics, and no intermittent violet ray, subsequent performances will involve sonically documenting the actions of the performers’ body with contact mics placed on the chest + throat, in addition to the blackboard. Electricity and wave/forms, + their relationship to the body, being uniquely situated within the entire W+W process, the performer will be subjected to electric shocks/stimulations via a violet ray—handled by an assistant provided with specific instructions as to when that shock should be administered. This ties directly back to earlier research with electricity and communication, particularly Johan Wilhelm Ritter, and the sonic works of Henri Chopin. Each iterations of WW Sessions seeks to build on the last, adding to an ever growing archive of textual/sonic/visual material. More information, and a write up of the resultant text post-performance can be found at : http://hrbuechler.tumblr.com/post/159581225733/hrbuechler-shot-post-ww-session-1-and-details

Session 1 / Are We Electric?

2017

(20 min. : 28 sec.)

digital video, durational performance, digital text output

Session 1 / Are We Electric? is the first in a series of durational performances, wherein the performer ostensibly performs the intellectual process of translation/distillation of knowledge—establishing the body as conduit—seeking to understand any quantifiable reasoning behind linguistic action, exposing translational error, while trying to connect seemingly disparate ideas surrounding our understanding and experience of communication and its relationship to and as various form(s). Occurring in silence, Session 1: Are We Electric focuses on the manifestation of thought pre-utterance as a haptic phenomenon existing in isolation. It attempts to quantify this experience, while also exploring the failures of its translation into a visual form, that itself is recognized as malleable and inadequate through the process.

Electricity, wave/forms + their relationship to the body are uniquely situated within the entire W+W process. Session 1 lays the foundation for this understanding.

(above) images of resultant text generated from the first session, and their output to digital.

Each iteration of the W+W Sessions will build on the last, adding to an ever growing archive of textual/sonic/visual material, exploring the movement of thought, the malleability of the forms that attempt to contain it, while also exposing their ultimate inefficacies as means by which to capture that which cannot be captured. 

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More information can be found at : http://hrbuechler.tumblr.com/post/159581225733/hrbuechler-shot-post-ww-session-1-and-details