Synergy: A Performance with Laser Light and Dance

Fig. 5. Dick Termes,grids for six-pointperspective onpolyhedrons. (a)The six vanishingpoints of the tetrahedronare foundat the centerof each edge. (b)The six vanishingpoints of the octahedronare found at the vertices. (c)The six vanishingpoints of the cube, or hexahedron, are found in the center of eachface. (d)The six vanishingpointson the icosahedronare found on six equidistantcentersof edges. (e)The six va&hing pointson the dodecahedronare foundonsix equidistantcentersof edges. drons, but other polyhedrons (such as the rhombic dodecahedron) alsowork wonderfidlywith six-point perspective. The polygons that comprise a polyhedron -each containing its piece of the total picture-can be arranged on a plane in many configurations. A tetrahedron that has been flattened into a two-dimensionalshape provides the most unique quality. Working with multiple photographs of each side of the tetrahedron, one can fit these triangles together so that no background space remains. This arrangement creates a tight, totalenvironment tessellation that can continue indefinitely (Color Plate B No. 1).The other polyhedrons flatten but do not fit as tight tessellations.Their images do, however,come together and can be arranged in many ways. Perspectival Gridson Polyhedrons Grids are used to show how six-point perspective organizes lines on the different polyhedrons. The grid’s vanishing points are found on each of the regular polyhedrons in a location that makes them geometrically organized with the octahedron. With each polyhedron , the grid lines project toward the six points or the vertices of the octahedron. I use the geometry of the octahedron for my six-point perspective because it has six equidistant vertices . Each line projects in two directions. If lines go to the north vanishing point, they also vanish to the south vanishing point. If they vanish to the east vanishing point, they will emerge at the west vanishing point. The lines that go to the zenith point also extend to the nadir point. These are the six directions in which cubical space moves. These six directions may make more sense if one imagines oneself as being inside the polyhedron (see Fig. 5). Reference 1. Dick A. Termes, “Six-PointPerspective on the Sphere:The Terrnesphere,”Leonard0 24, No. 3, 289-292,1991. SYNERGY: A PERFORMANCE WITH LASER LIGHT AND DANCE Robert Martin, Department of Art and Art History, 150CommunityArts Center, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, U.S.A. Received 6November 1992.Acceptedfw publication by RogerF. Malina. For many, the disciplines of the visual and the performingartsexist as two distinct, separateartforms. Sometimeswe forget how the histories of these two artformsin this centuryreveal paralleldevelopments. In the visual arts,the Dadaists,the Cubists and the Surrealistshelped to start a chain reaction that liberated our traditionaldefinitionsof paintingand sculpture.In dance,similar freedomof expressionwas achieved asperformersmoved beyond the confinesof the dance halls and structured performances to explore chancein performanceand electronic technology. Fortunately,performanceart,installation art,environmentalartand video a r thave added to this blurringof classical distinc254 Abstracts tionsamongthe performingand v i s u a l a r t s . work influenced by the abstractblackand -whitepaintingsof William de Kooning,Al Held, Franz Mine, Robert Morris,Jackson Pollock and Steven Sloman.Another influence on the work came from a trip I took to Port-AuPrince , Haiti. While there, I witnessed a voodoo performance that allowedboth mystery and magic to overtake the audience . This same mystery, magic, form and design can also be seen in the artists’paintingsmentioned above. The essentialmotive behind Synergy is similar to that of Futuristballet,the creatorsof which had a devoutcommitment to integrate the human body with the visuals of a continuouslychangingenvironment . Sy-, which I conceived,was performed by the Wayne StateUniversity Dance departmentwith the help of ImageEngineeringof Troy, Michigan. The performance opened with six dancers moving slowlyinto a weblike argon laser image that seemed to give an illusion of the MilkyWay. The same six dancerswere later accompanied by an animated bluegreen laser image that “morphed”into an array of different abstractforms that could be interpreted as a spirit or as a seventh dancer. The second movement became a gallerythat offered its audience more hints about what the dancing light might represent. As the dancers moved in this space, they and the audience were shown paintingsvia slide projector . In this way, simultaneouslessons Syneqg (Fig.6) is...