Re: [Futurework] Re: Chess (was If a Machine Creates Something Beautiful, Is It an Artist?)

[Selma Singer]

Ray wrote: Brad and Selma,   Serious questions.    Perhaps these couple of pages from the book Democracy's Body - a history of one of the revolutionary work theaters for Dancers in the modern era -  contains some further explorations of what you are examining.   This is not about computers but about the work habits of creative extremely well-trained professionals who are searching in the pre-computer era for a new way of looking at kinetic form Several chance mechanisms remove the personal involvement of the choreographer from the dance in this instance: the drawing, which shaped the movements in space and along a path, was a "found" drawing, and a drawing by a child who did not have adult, aestheticized design sense; the list of movements corresponding to each section was probably established through another chance procedure; finally, the dance was performed not by the choreographer, but by another dancer, who could install certain of her own choices in the interpretation of the score. Emerson chose to make the dance last a total of eight minutes, with one minute of stillness inserted arbitrarily into each section. 104   Selma:  so up to here we have processes that could not be programmed into a computer. That is, the initial or original creative processes could not be programmed because they emerge in the consciousness of the moment. Once the choreography has emerged, it could then be programmed in its existing form but that would be rigid and could not incorporate a creative process in any way.    Back to the book: For Dunn's assignment to use a chance mechanism to choose body parts, Summers remembers using a spinning ball to solve the problem. 105   Selma: The computer could be used here to advantage. Do you agree that a spinning ball is a machine-type agent that would work in ways similar to those of a computer?   The book: Later, Paxton developed the use of the ball by writing movement choices on it and stopping the diagrammed ball with his index finger or flattening it with a piece of glass to determine the order of the options. 106 Summers remembers that the discussion following the body parts assignment centered on "how difficult it is to break away from body patterns that go together, your own particular clichés or dance clichés in general." 107    Selma: This process (above) clearly could not be programmed.   The book:   Movement, too, it was thought, could tune the mind-body to an "authentic" and intensified consciousness of energy flow and varying physical states. For instance, the techniques of "kinetic awareness" that Elaine Summers would eventually develop as a full-blown system of physical/ spiritual therapy -- using anatomical studies and the verbal expression of emotional and physical states to heal the whole person and liberate his or her movement potential -- had its roots in her Dance for Carola (dedicated to one of Summers's kinesiology teachers).   Selma:  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH ( I don't know if that expresses my extreme pleasure at seeing the above paragraph)   This, I believe, is where we can see the way everything is integrated: the physical, the emotional, the intellectual, the spiritual, the psychological, and, I believe, the cultural and sociological because all of the other elements exist in a cultural and sociological context.   For me, integrating the spiritual with all of the other elements of human existence is the bottom line and I don't see how we can ever talk about anything-economics, government policies, education, medicine, family, work, infrastructure, technology, the media, sports, etc. etc. without being conscious of the spiritual component and the way everything is connected.   The book:   In this solo dance (performed in silence) Summers changed from a standing posture to crouching and then back to standing again, all in sustained slow motion. The single task took eight to ten minutes. For Summers, the dance was a result of discovering a new energy pattern and body image that was authentically hers, one that savored time and extended sensory impressions. Again, the ideal of expanded consciousness seemed to serve as the route to a utopian vision.   Selma: YES!!!!   The book: On the one hand, then, there was an urge toward sincerity, natural impulse, and harmonious union with the cosmos, achieved through the expansion of the bodily senses. On the other hand, any inklings that a unified, direct, and original experience of the world was indeed possible were countered by the Cagean affirmation of chaos.    (Banes 244)   I am not clear about what is referred  to by "the Cagean affirmation of Chaos".   What comes to my mind at first is John Cage's 14 minutes of silence as a piece of music, but I don't think that is what is being referred to here.   I also do not understand why the unified feelings should be 'countered' by this 'Cagean affirmation of chaos'. My very primitive understanding of chaos theory is that what one finds when studying chaos is order and, for me, spirituality and creativity incorporate and are manifestations of the highest form of order.( a reference to the Einstein quote I used earlier would be appropriate here)  I have a feeling that I'm missing a very  big piece here because of my ignorance of what is being referred to. I hope someone can enlighten me. (gently, please)   Selma