021326 / STUDIO REPORTAGE
STUDIO REPORTAGE is a series in audio-visual.journal which drops y’all into the frequencies emitting from my current workflow. Expressed through one dimension of my research methodology,1 (call, listen, respond),2 I’ll gather notes and references for what I’m working on, as well as share updates about this virtual journal and other parts of my art practice.
CALL / WHAT HAS BEEN CALLING TO ME?
still thinking about composition as an interdisciplinary format to learn more about
still thinking about conversation as a slow method for processing/research
LISTEN / WHAT MEANS OF LISTENING HAVE I BEEN ENGAGING WITH?
considering distinctions between different types of movement scores3
translating steps in a project into the stages for editing a film
RESPOND / IN WHAT WAYS HAVE I BEEN RESPONSIVE?
revising the entries page for this journal
re-sharing my most recent film writings (When I Get Home; The Passion of Remembrance)
developing, and re-committing to, a set of daily creative practices6
thanks for being an audience, and stay tuned.
— Paris ★
shout out Ayana Zaire Cotton, founder of Seeda School, for helping me express my orientation toward musicality and encouraging me to choose these pillars for a generative framework. and shout out to fellow Seeda School alum, isabetta bleu whose structure for sharing studio updates directly influenced me attempting to try this out. ↩
‘call and response’ is a Black technology rooted in traditions of musical expression, spirituality, and oral history/storytelling. when i was challenged to adopt a 3 part framework to structure my art practice, i considered how adding the pillar “listen” might help articulate what happens in between calling and responding. this is an active revision aimed to deepen my engagement with this ancestral form. ↩
i am using the term ‘movement’ to describe how i interact between (choreographed) dance, deep listening, and (body-based) improvisation. a ‘score’ is a framework for unplanned movement that appears in each of these forms of study; the more i engage with creating movement scores the more i’m considering that there might be distinct “genres” or intentions underneath certain kinds of scores. ↩
i mentioned in the journal entry ‘120425 / STUDIO REPORTAGE’ that i was learning to define ‘play’ in relation to my practice. ↩
Time is such a prominent theme in the social circles I’m in, so I’ve really enjoyed experiencing the net-art site The Infinite Almanac. ↩
“If I was answering the question of how I stay in the work that stains my hands and the walls around me, I would say practice. I practice my practices. Looking myself in the eye in the mirror is a daily practice. A tarot reading for my mother. Blending the tea I need for this moment of embodiment. Spending time with my ancestors. Writing something I don’t care whether anyone reads. Filling the air with cinnamon. Dancing with my partner. Video calling my nieces. Composing a sentence in a language I don’t speak daily. These are some of my daily practices. I protect my practices.” — “The God of Every Day” (2021) by Alexis Pauline Gumbs in Topical Cream ↩