How Did the Waves of Corruption Wash Ashore? and " Words of The Unknown Delaware Indian" as documented by Thomas Farnham
In 1883, author Thomas Farnham wrote about an "Unknown Delaware Indian" he met in the Rocky Mountains. Obviously this native american was far from home and far from his tribe. Thomas Farnham asked him a question about why he had abandoned civilized life and his answer amazed me and inspired a piece of artwork that I made.First please listen to the words of the "Unknown Delaware Indian":
The piece I made was a video installation and performance piece called "Useless Worms and Weeds" made in collaboration with Pamela Bailinson, Mollie Dash, Diane Tomasi, Irgun Schnitzler, Lilla Magyari and Bryan X. It was initially created for a month long residency at Everbrite Mercantile Exchange (https://www.ebmerc.com) in Red Hook Brooklyn. The piece was also presented at The Greenpoint Preapocalypse Festival in Greenpoint, Broooklyn and at the In Six Hours Ago group show at Etalage Derde Wal (http://derdewal.nl) in Nijmegen, Netherlands.
It required at least three dancers to interact with an interactive generative video created in max for live. A large screen was built for the video to be back projected onto. Next to the projector was a webcam and in-between the projector and the screen the dancers performed around a four foot copper pyramid.
The generative video technique was based upon the layering of delayed video feed back which created a fractal nature to the graphics. This also lends a vintage or low-tech analog feel to the composition even though it was generated via visual programing software. The shadows and video images of the dancer begin to mingle and mirror each other creating complex patterns simultaneously I am behind the projector and webcam tweaking parameters in reaction to the movement of the dancers and rhythm of the soundtrack. It naturally takes on a ritualistic form every time it is presented because so much preparation is needed and the physical performance of the piece becomes a feedback loop in and of itself, mirroring what is happening with in the digital realm of the software.
The answer to Thomas Farnham's question by the "Unknown Delaware Indian" highlights the idea that the situations we experience now, the struggles we experience, and the corruption we experience did not evolve in a vacuum. We are all implicated in the corruption we see in our world. We are all part of the context that allowed for this to happen. Perhaps it was our naivety that allowed us to be implicated. But, here we are today with the knowledge of what has become of our society and our global situation. The very same forces that created the system we thrive upon is the exact forces that burn it to the ground, ashes to ashes. The creation was self destructive by nature. The only way to progress at this point is to look at ourselves and ask, what was it that we did that enabled the corruption to exist? What is it with in ourselves that we need to change? Recognize our power and influence in the reality around us and scrap what we have got for parts because we know it can't sustain life. How can we embody our personal power with dignity and compassion? Can we even walk away into the wilderness anymore?
Mahalo Nui,
Sach Dharam Singh