SHOWING WITHOUT GOING

Connections

To hear voices

Presence which theoretically should not be present is a very intense form of liveness. 

The spectre of death (conjured into the now) is very 'live'.

 

Approaches

Voice (Acousmatic)

Making a deliberate decision to present only the voice may assist the ‘making present’ of those who cannot be physically present (for example, those who can’t show their face). 

The term ‘acousmatic sound’ means an invisible sound source, and can be relevant to voice. The term comes from ‘the Acousmatics’, pupils of the philosopher Pythagoras who listened to him deliver his lectures from behind a curtain (it was thought that visual distraction would impinge on the purity of his teachings.) In acousmatic art, one hears sound from behind a "veil" of loudspeakers, the source invisible.

#illusionofpresence

Questions

A relationship between absence and death?

The spectre of death in theatre and performance has been extensively documented. To what extent do SWG practices take this further? To consider -

People or things that seem to be present but which are not.

The uncanny / Unheimlich

People or things which seem to be alive but which, potentially or definitely, are not (dummies, animatronics etc).

"Acousmatic" - a voice which can be heard but not seen.

Things which move or traces left - by the actions of someone who is not present.

Stories of the first humans to live with photographs of loved ones who had died.

Questions

Insisting on Presence

How to allow audiences to encounter someone who cannot travel but whose presence in 'the here and now' would be crucial?

People in prison, people on the run, dead people, the name/voice/face-less oppressed...  

'If only they could be here, if only we could share a moment with them here.'

What kinds of yearning-in-absence can live artists respond to with their skills?