/ traces

Of course the moment I joined the room, I had a reflexive reaction of saying hi, but immediately realized the intent of the project. At first I felt a bit uneasy in that it seemed a bit voyeuristic, and that I was projecting my gaze onto you. I thought that perhaps this was required in that you were doing the same. But the longer we stared at each other, the more I felt an objectifying effect taking place. I realized by doing this I was seeing less, and unable to read you or connect with you. So, I closed my eyes, to see if I could better understand and connect with your presence on screen. It's been a very long time since I've meditated, and the process was profoundly enlightening. The longer I meditated with my eyes closed, the clearer my mind became. All those thoughts or assumptions buzzing inside my head receded. I began to reconnect to my chakras, and the sense of the gravity that bound my body below me, and the connection I had with the space above me and finally the virtual space we were sharing. I did open my eyes several times, and focused onto the wall in front of me, outside our virtual space but always aware of it, which in turn  gave me a sense of the space I occupied in my apartment and space outside on the streets.When I opened my eyes for the last times, you had disconnected which was somewhat disconcerting. I had expected you to just leave the space and the camera would still be on. Overall the experience was quite existential.

John Naccarato

Francisca Morand

The thing that resonated for me was the absence felt when you were suddenly not there, and I was left looking at myself again. That’s when I felt a sense of loss for your presence, and better understood what it had meant to me while you were there. The experience made me think about loss, and loneliness, and about trying to appreciate the present more. It was a very tangible way to reflect on that.

Kaitlin Clipsham

A collapse of time and space
Performing presence
Loving presence
What remains present in absence?
What remains absent in presence?
startled by your sudden departure
reminded of the impermanence of all things

Christine Jackson

--The calming presence of a person holding space for me to sit still and be
--The sound of a ticking clock, at first impatient then settled into patient waiting
--I was surprised at how quickly 10 minutes flew by!
--Silence of stillness
--My puppy cuddling next to me, stealing idleness for herself as well

- Nicole Furlonge

shared blinking breath
ebb and flow of shoulders
and our throats
swallow
did she practice, I wonder, her face
how long have we been (lifetimes)
practicing our (lifelines) faces
do the shores of her mouth tilt up
--always?--
or was she
smiling

- Wiam El Tamami

White space framing curls

Chirping birds and summer sky

Power of stillness

Anonymous

To idle in stillness and silence sounds like an invitation to a situation both predictable and pleasant.
And yet!
It was unexpected ... and pleasant.
Captivating and calming.
At one point I sneezed.
And before I knew it you were gone. I checked the time because I thought there was no way 10 minutes had passed, but indeed, we had idled for precisely 10 minutes.

Jessy Tuddenham

I couldn't stop thinking of Proust for some reason.

“Desire makes everything blossom; possession makes everything wither and fade.”

Will Daddario

Desiree Foerster

...such a pleasure to spend time with you late in the evening (our time),...  you looked intensely focussed, and i was happy about that as it allowed me to dream, and imagine how i could distract you; the yellow balloon, named Jaaqa, was drawn by my 3 year old grand niece Sara last week when i visited her..

-Johannes Birringer

Lin Westmoreland

I am sat in the hallway, in a space in between, inside and outside,  that is not my house or home, but a friends rather cluttered holding space. I enjoy the silence with you. I am with a curved back I notice, I move position…I notice the pain down my left arm and leg, its more of stiffness in my joints that wants more attention I know. I enjoy it here with you. I could stay longer but dinner is cooking

With much gratitude and inspiration for the interval, for holding this interval space

Rosalind Holgate Smith

When you logged off a few minutes ago, I was startled to be staring at myself again. These ten minutes passed more quickly than I'd imagined ten minutes last. But measuring time is never my forte.

Thank you for these moments of stillness. They felt less lonely, and more focused, than the stretches of minutes (hours/days) in which I've accidentally done nothing. The pandemic has really messed up my already-shaky handle on time.

Before our encounter, I was scouring the internet for kf94s, so that my partner will be safe when he returns to the classroom next week, and wondering what "safe" means in this context. I was also rewriting sentences, in my head, for the manuscript that I'm woefully behind in revising; thinking about whether to move halfway across the country next week, as I've planned, or if the rise of delta means I should delay that; and periodically trying to work out where I went wrong in today's crossword puzzle.

And then I clicked into our encounter, with you looking into the camera, and I began to feel -- calm, quiet, still. (No, that's not quite right, because at first I was surprised to see that I had connected via my external camera, which I then had to resituate, and it made me flustered, and I briefly enlarged my own video feed at least three times to make sure it was in place. But then I stopped doing that.) I spent most of the encounter just sitting, listening to my dog snoring softly on the couch behind me, and looking at you, live in full screen on my laptop. Did I remember to look into the camera at all? I'm not sure I did. If not: apologies.

But you looked into the camera. I'm thinking now about how you looked -- attentively but not expressively. That is, without doing what a director I used to work with would have called indicating, an exaggerated comportment meant to telegraph one's internal state. I tend to do it a lot when I video conference, especially when teaching, in an effort to push past the mediated distances of the remote classroom, to build up the zoom room's energy. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't, but an irony is that afterwards, like so many of us, I feel totally depleted. By contrast, just being with you, however mediated, has left me feeling restored.

Li Cornfeld

Having interacted with you virtually, the whole experience felt rather familiar to me at first. The experience of rushing into a video conference and turning myself "on" for the camera. Of course, it only took a few minutes for me to find myself in unfamiliar territory, as the normal warm-ups for a virtual interaction, the  greetings and catch-ups were off the table. Idling with another person face-to-face in silence is an intimate act or an intimacy creating act. I began to feel rather vulnerable and uncertain of what was going on and what I should do. I became fidgety, or perhaps I only felt fidgety given that you seemed so still. As the nervousness gradually dissipated, I began to wonder more about who I was looking at, then how and whether it really was a question of who I was looking at or if it was a question of who I was piecing together. Following your abrupt departure, I made the recording attached to this email…

- Muindi Muindi

An image as I am in the mountains right now, very isolated from the life I have in Paris.

And 2 words perhaps: silence and care. 

Having shared 10 minutes of silence with you felt like being here in the mountains in the pyrenee area in South of France and hearing barely the sound of the sheep's bells. 

I had been distracted by my son while we were looking at each other, he woke up and my partner needed to soothe him back to sleep. That as well is part of my experience of this past month:  silence and care. 

My thoughts are not organized, I apologize about it. I am taking time to listen and not to think.

Sarah Fdili Alaoui

The calmness the image brings along is already a very nice welcoming to the space, an opportunity to breathe. It was at the same time a weird experience as the image was to me also creating a virtual reality atmosphere. So I was not sure I was in front of a virtual avatar or a real human being. The image for moments was getting pixelated so it amplified this feeling. Though, it was not creating a distance to the experience or to the calmness it was communicating. As when one looks in the eyes at somebody else for long minutes, the face starts reflecting oneself. I was not sure I was sensing her emotional state through little almost imperceptible gestures, or if it was me. Her contemplative state confronted me with my own stressed and tired body, after working those weeks so much. My tension became even more evident when faced to the opposite. When the image disappeared and I stood in front of myself, it was at first a bit uncomfortable, and I immediately judged it, but soon I felt compassion. I didn't see the stress I was feeling but a calm image as well.

Nicole Michalla

calming
comfortable
settling in
deep breaths
video glitches
time
in and out
settling back in
breathe
fully relaxing
fully present

Jessica Gaynor

Teoma Naccarato is awarded a new Process Grant for the project Im/mediations 9x9x9, to take place between August and December 2022!

Im/mediations: 9x9x9 is a durational performance/installation involving nine performers, each captured using a nine-camera surveillance system, and rematerialized via projection mapping onto sculptural surfaces. Over the course of nine hours, close-up images and biodata from performers will be mixed and reimagined to explore tension within hybrid and collective bodies.

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR.

Open Call for Berlin-based Director of Photography

Paid Opportunity - Apply by September 12, 2022

About the PROJECT:

Im/mediations: 9x9x9 is a durational performance/installation involving nine performers, each captured using a nine-camera surveillance system, and rematerialized via projection mapping onto sculptural surfaces. Over the course of nine hours, close-up images and biodata from performers will be mixed and reimagined to explore tension within hybrid and collective bodies.

About US:

Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum have been collaborating since they met in 2013. Their collective work draws on their backgrounds in music composition, choreography, computer science, and creative writing, as well as their deep interest in performance art and philosophy. Check out recent projects at: https://iii-iii-iii.org

About YOU:

• We seek a Director of Photography to collaborate on the development of a series of experimental video portraits for livestream performance, as well as a subsequent video installation.
• The DoP will collaborate to design the 9-camera closeup video installation surrounding the face of each performer from multiple angles.
• The lighting and image settings of the ELP webcams is a particular challenge, so expertise in creative approaches to lighting for video is essential.
• Additional assets include: experience with closeup and macro imagery, abstract portraiture, high channel count video, livestream performance, and durational performance.

About the SCHEDULE:

We will collaborate part-time during the periods listed below. All sessions will take place in our artist studio in Alt Köpenick (Lindenstraße 31, 12555 Berlin).

There is some flexibility for the dates of the initial and final prototyping stages, but less during the filming of the portraits, since this involves many performers. When you fill out the online form, please indicate your availability during the following weeks:

• Monday October 3 - Saturday October 8 | Prototype of 9-camera installation
• Sunday October 30 - Thursday November 3 | Film & Livestream Portraits 1-3
• Sunday November 6 - Thursday November 10 | Film & Livestream Portraits 4-6
• Sunday November 13 - Thursday November 17 | Film & Livestream Portraits 7-9
• Monday November 28 - Friday December 11 | Prototype video installation with footage from 9 portraits

About the MONEY:

Our grant allows us to offer a fixed fee of 5000€ total, for 2 months of collaboration according to KSK rates. This includes VAT and all fees.

About the SELECTION PROCESS:

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Due Monday September 12
Please fill out the google form to let us know what interests you about the project, and provide some links to online materials. The form also requests your availability during the project periods, and for an interview on September 16.

If you have any questions, please email: teomajn@gmail.com 

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Open Call for Berlin-based Performers

Paid Opportunity - Apply by September 12, 2022

About the PROJECT:

Im/mediations: 9x9x9 is a durational performance/installation involving nine performers, each captured using a nine-camera surveillance system, and rematerialized via projection mapping onto sculptural surfaces. Over the course of nine hours, close-up images and biodata from performers will be mixed and reimagined to explore tension within hybrid and collective bodies.

About US:

Teoma Naccarato and John MacCallum have been collaborating since they met in 2013. Their collective work draws on their backgrounds in music composition, choreography, computer science, and creative writing, as well as their deep interest in performance art and philosophy. Check out recent projects at: https://iii-iii-iii.org

About YOU:

• We are seeking nine Berlin-based performers for a series of video portraits.
• As a performer, you must excel at being still, at listening without anticipation, at seeing while allowing yourself to be seen. 
• You will be asked to stand in place for 90-minutes with nine cameras positioned in close proximity to your face. There will be a minimalist sound score to guide your breathing and actions. Your image will be recorded and live-streamed, and later edited in combination with portraits of the other performers.
• Experience in contemporary dance, somatics, and durational performance are of particular relevance, however performers from all training backgrounds are invited to apply. If this work appeals to you, we want to hear from you!

About the SCHEDULE:

We will work with each performer for a total of 15 hours, spread over the course of a single week. All sessions will take place in our artist studio in Alt Köpenick (Lindenstraße 31, 12555 Berlin). When you fill out the online form, please indicate your availability during the following weeks:

• WEEK 1 (3 performers): Sunday October 30 - Thursday November 3

• WEEK 2 (3 performers): Sunday November 6 - Thursday November 10

• WEEK 3 (3 performers): Sunday November 13 - Thursday November 17

About the MONEY:

The hourly pay for each performer is 50€ per hour x 15 hours = 750€ total. This includes VAT and all fees.

About the SELECTION PROCESS:

• EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Due Monday September 12
  Please fill out this google form online to indicate your availability during the project period, and for the audition and interview online: https://forms.gle/ZHfdcUu6QyPUKUNB6

• VIDEO AUDITION: On Thursday September 15, 2022
  As an initial step, we ask you to perform a 10-minute choreographic score called IDLE. View the score here: https://immediations.com/idle/score/

• VIDEO INTERVIEWS: On Friday September 16, 2022
  The following day, we will invite you for a 15 minute followup interview to discuss your experience and interest in the project.

If you have any questions, please email: teomajn@gmail.com 

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.