Interview
Consenses Interview with Sally Taylor:
Your Name:Dennis Svoronos
Where you live: Boston, MA USA
Where you came from: West Palm Beach, FL USA
Your Medium: Anything I can get my hands on
The name of your work: Body Resonance What made you want to participate in this project?
I was intrigued by the notion of translating a creative idea through time and space. My work is based on public participation and engagement, creating a collaboration between artists and viewer. Consenses is a collaboration on a grand scale, I believe in its mission and goals.
What was your first reaction to the dance? (thoughts, emotions, memories, tastes, smells etc?)
My first reaction was to the rhythmic repetition of the dancers bodies and choreography, one flowing into the next, into the next. Like ripples on water, repeating patterns, getting larger and fading away.
If you had to choose one word to sum up the dance what would it be?
Rhythmic
What was the dance about in your mind?
Bodies engaging with each other in space, rhythmically reflecting and resonating together. Reminiscent of leaves in wind or birds taking flight.
Take me through each step of your process from getting the dance to the creation of your sculpture.
I tried to ignore any specifics of the dancers, almost like watching it through a foggy lens. For me, the essence of the work came from seeing it as form moving through space. I suppose that’s my sculptors brain. My first instinct was to latch onto the repetitious motion, which starts as one, becomes many, and fades silently. Much like a bell rings and fades. Distilling down from these intriguing aspects, i ended up with the elements of body, circular motion and resonance. I decided that an object requiring personal engagement from the viewer would translate best the physical essence of the dance. Bells immediately came to mind, as they exist in different states through time as the dancers do. My goal was to create an experience more than an object, something that would be as fluid and enchanting as the dance that inspired it.
What did you title your work and why?
“Body Resonance”
The title reflects the essence of form and repetitive fluidity that I saw in the dance. Like ripples and bells the work resonated through space.
What part of your sculpture came to you first?
The element of sound and body interaction.
How do you normally create? How was this experience different?
My work typically stems from a natural curiosity about the world I live in, trying to understand the conflicts and conundrums I experience in life. Part of this process is an unending fascination with technology, kinetics and how we relate to it. I feel that this project and process isn’t much different from my usual methods, it still piques my natural curiosity. What techniques/tools did you use to help you express you’re interpretation?
The project involves some woodworking techniques, and a handmade touch sensitive circuit to activate the piece. The kinetic parts are re-engineered from salvaged materials, and the ‘dancing’ elements are stainless steel and bronze rods. My work is a process of creative tinkering; part electronic engineering, welding and fabricating as well as some good old fashioned improvisation.
Are there certain choices you made which mean something specific to you that the observer might not know?
Personally, bells have always been a perfect metaphor for human experience. The embodiment of beautiful, powerful and finite existence.
Extra credit: Did you enjoy this project? More you want to say about your experience? I enjoyed the entire process of Consenses, collaboration, communication and a twist of mystery. I feel that this idea of collaborative curation is fascinating, and I hope that its an ongoing process that inspires more of the same, and those the same. Community is integral to the arts, and this is one of the few artistic endeavors in which I’ve participated that explicitly builds it.