Adriene Jenik

So far, and yet, so close: Lessons from Telem­atic Improvisation

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Abstract: When impro­vis­ing across dis­tances (as in telem­atic impro­vi­sa­tion), how do artists uti­lize the unique prop­er­ties of dis­tance? What types of per­for­mance cues develop within a net­worked impro­visatory envi­ron­ment? This paper draws upon my expe­ri­ence direct­ing impro­vi­sa­tional per­for­mance projects (Desk­top The­ater, SPECFLIC and Open_Borders Lounge) to address these and other ques­tions. In doing so, I hope to expand the under­stand­ing of telem­at­ics per­for­mance prac­tice and address not only dif­fer­ences in form and tech­nique; but the ways in which socio-political con­text, lan­guage dif­fer­ences, and time zone shifts can con­tribute to a crit­i­cal con­ver­sa­tion on improvisation. I will exam­ine long-held notions of the cen­tral­ity of prox­i­mal bod­ies in impro­vi­sa­tion. Though the sub­ject of the live body has been inter­ro­gated in rela­tion to tech­no­log­i­cal pros­the­sis and the residue of the live body has been acknowl­edged even in its medi­ated form, much remains to understand.

Bio: Adriene Jenik is a telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions media artist, research pro­fes­sor and Kather­ine K. Her­berger Endowed Chair in Fine Arts at Ari­zona State University’s School of Art. Her works, includ­ing Mauve Desert: A CD-ROM Trans­la­tion, El Naf­taazteca (with Guillermo Gomez-Pena), Desk­top The­atre (w/Lisa Bren­neis and the Desk­top The­ater troupe), SPECFLIC, and Open_Borders (with Charley Ten), har­ness the col­li­sion of “high” tech­nol­ogy and human desire to pro­pose new forms of lit­er­a­ture, cin­ema, and performance.
http://www.adrienejenik.net/