week one, exploring stimuli

 In our first week, we began by exploring five different stimuli each connected by the idea of using art as a political tool. We were given 2-3 minutes at each image to write down thoughts and emotions they evoked, movement ideas and any messages that we thought they might have been portraying. During this process, we could raise questions for the next group to answer which led to a variety of unique and inspiring interpretations to be made. To consolidate the whole class's contributions, we had a group discussion where we explained some of our notes in further detail and also discovered the true intention of each image. 

Our class's annotated stimuli:



In groups, we then chose one of the stimuli to look at further, and for this I was looking at an image of the Chilean protest in 2019, where thousands of women came together to fight for the rights of females who have fallen victim to sexual violence, rape and abuse. The song 'A Rapist in Your Path' has become what has been described by the Guardian as an 'anti-rape anthem', which has united women across the world to feel empowered and determined for change (McGowan, 2019). 




We were set the task of creating a short sequence inspired by our image and we started by using a striking motif of having our hands crossed above our heads to allude to the stance of the women in the image. To inspire the dynamic of our movement, we chose the contrasting words of 'power' and 'vulnerability', to show both the victimisation of the women, but also how they used their shared suffering to unite as a brave and resilient force. 

Link to the video of our motif: https://youtu.be/PxC5Ftba6hA

I found this to be a very beneficial method for inspiring movement, as we had a clear message to portray in mind when developing our sequence. Using a stimuli that not only had unique and inspiring imagery, but also a clear and poignant purpose meant that the intent behind our choreography was driven by both dynamics and emotion, rather than just aesthetics.

References:

  •   Brandon, A., 2020. Stolen. Available at: https://www.adrianbrandon.com/stolen
  •   Banksy, 2019. Scar Of Bethlehem.
  •   San Fratello, R., 2019. See Saws.
  •   Scaife, A., 2011. Human Cost.
  • McGowan, C., 2019. Chilean Anti-Rape Anthem Becomes International Feminist Phenomenon. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/06/chilean-anti-rape-anthem-becomes-international-feminist-phenomenon> [Accessed 5 October 2020].
  • Guardian News, 2019. Un Violador En Tu Camino. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5AAscy7qbI&t=4s> [Accessed 11 October 2020].

Comments

  1. Lucy ImamzadeNovember 8, 2020 at 10:38 AM

    I really enjoyed reading your blog Daisy, you gave great detail on this weeks task and I really enjoyed watching your motif. Did you face any challenges in this task? If so, how did you overcome them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daisy StonierNovember 9, 2020 at 9:21 PM

      Thanks so much Lucy. We initially struggled to come up with multiple ideas for a range of movement, rather than just the defining arms crossed motif. However, we overcame this by thinking about ways to describe the women in the photo and the circumstances they were in. For example, unity, empowerment, vulnerability and bravery. This gave us more areas for inspiration rather than just getting stuck looking at the photo as a whole and becoming overwhelmed.

      Delete
  2. LouisaBratbyNovember 11, 2020 at 9:36 PM

    This is a very well written and carefully thought blog! I like how you took great consideration into how you would achieve the emotional qualities you wanted to show by having words to guide and help translate movement. Were there any particular choreographic devices that also helped you express your message?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daisy StonierNovember 14, 2020 at 2:27 PM

      Thankyou Louisa! We used repetition of our motif to enhance its' importance and message that it represented about the strength that these women used to empower others and stand up for what is right. Furthermore, we used canon to show how women across the world saw the protests in Chile and were inspired to join in all across the world, seeing each other's movements and replicating it, as the women did with this moving anthem.

      Delete
  3. NansonNovember 29, 2020 at 11:28 AM

    reading this towards the end of this module I wonder if anything in this lesson has influenced your final piece?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daisy StonierNovember 29, 2020 at 12:10 PM

      Yes in a similar way as we did in this task, we have used the repetition of gestural phrases in our final piece to be a reminder for the audience of specific emotions or ideas that we want to evoke.

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