This Friday I attended a performance of PAT Master Student Simon Alexander-Adams’ Master Thesis, Noise Void. Noise Void is an advanced multi-media production created with digital compositing technology accompanied by an electronic score, solely created by Alexander-Adams. Alexander-Adams also made use of projection-mapping, mapping his project onto a series of screens in 3-D space in order to create a complex and immersive visual experience.

Noise Void is a short experimental piece drawing inspiration from the glitches everyday computer software produce. Alexander-Adams collected hundreds of sounds and images from corrupted Windows files as a starting point for the project. Seeing the presentation reminded me of the adage, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Glitched files are junk–useless, a waste of storage space. Alexander-Adams approaches corrupted date from a different perspective, seeing them as an opportunity to explore the recesses of cyberspace.

Noise Void, although quite experimental, maintains semblances of narrative. A blank screen freezes, glitches, and descends into the void of unruly data. I felt like I was tumbling through a vortex of information, bombarded by waves of sound and light. The visual experience is quite compelling. Jagged lines undulate violently across the screen, warping through phases of color and intensity.

The accompanying score is equally impressive. A drone of beeping digital sounds which clamor with increasing intensity as the lines of code move ever more frantically across the screen. This was clearly a meticulous work, as layers of audiovisual patterns gained increasing complexity, and despite the rhythmic nature of the piece, I never felt bored, I watched on fascinated by what could possibly happen next.

After a tumultuous ride through glitch space, Noise Void ends with a return to a static screen and shuts off. I interpreted this experience as a journey through a corrupted file as it’s being read by a computer–the computer tries to interpret the data, but ultimately fails. I’m not sure if my interpretation is correct, or whether there is really a single correct way to interpret this visual marvel, but the experience is certainly provocative. The meticulous design, crisp sound design, and intricate aesthetic culminate in an audiovisual experience unlike anything I’d seen before. The use of projection mapping enhanced the experience, adding a 3-dimensional aspect to the performance, heightening my immersion and whetting my desire to delve deeper into the void.

here is a link to Noise Void. Not as visceral as the live performance, but still an awesome video to watch.

I am not one for over-exaggerating. I try and represent something for what it is. However, if something is amazing, it deserves the acknowledgement of being said to the world. So here is me, saying to the world, that the Vagina Monologues were flat out fantastic. I never thought I would laugh so hard at dialogue surrounding vaginas, nor be so moved by stories of an abused woman than in Thursday night’s performance. The dialogues, a compilation of a few hundred interviews of women from all socioeconomic statuses, races, sexual backgrounds, etc., touched on a broad range of topics surrounding women, their sexuality, their romantic experiences, their abuse histories, and any personal anecdotes that got thrown in. One of my favorite parts of the 2 hour performance was how they interlaced each monologue with tidbit information on vaginas. There were some great facts that I myself had never heard before, and I definitely learned a lot in the 2 hours.

One of the hardest parts of the night had to have been listening to the monologue written for the Bosnian women rescued form a rape camp in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The performer who recited this monologue had the ability to portray such a heart-breaking, disgusting story of abuse with deep respect to what had happened. The audience sat, respectfully stunned, and listened. I myself could not decide whether to cry or shake in anger. Despite the graphic, horrid story that was told, I am glad I listened. I am glad that the monologue reinforced the sanctity of a woman’s body, and her right to protect it how she see fit.

Of course, there were many happy, hilarious sections of the evening on top of the moving ones. My favorite had to have been “My Vagina’s Angry!”. This monologue covered many of the common complaints a woman has about vaginas. Every woman and man in the room was dying of laughter by the end of it, and it amazed me how much my friends and I agreed with every word said. It felt very empowering to know that these ‘secretive’ topics, not so socially acceptable to talk about (even in our modern culture), are topics that every woman thinks about.

So exactly what did I get out of The Vagina Monologues? I’d have to say it was the reassurance that despite the trials and tragedies of womanhood, we are an incredibly powerful sex. Not only that, but we are not alone, and we should start talking about our vaginas more, because they can be pretty amazing.

What: The Vagina Monologues

Where: Rackham Auditorium

When: Thursday March 20, 8:00 pm

How Much: $5 (buy in Mason Hall) or $7 at the door

Why: All ticket proceeds go to SafeHouse Center and V-Day!!

University of Michigan’s Students for Choice is putting on this famous production for the second time at this university! Come out to enjoy an entertaining, informative, and hilarious performance while also supporting some great organizations!

The Michigan Theater recently screened Oscar Nominated documentary The Act of Killing, a spine-chilling re-enactment of multiple political assassinations under the supervision of Indonesia’s late fascist regime. The film will soon be available for streaming on Netflix, and I highly encourage watching it. Seeing it in a theater setting was a rare treat, as documentaries are hard to come by in such a viewing context. The filmmaker asks former government elites under Indonesia’s fascist regime to re-create some of their assassinations however they see fit. What follows is a disturbing gaze into the mind of cold-blooded killers.

 

Each recreation is unique in style, and not only a representation of the assassinations, but also a glimpse into the mind of the men behind the murders. The director makes an interesting decision to cede artistic authorship to the individual whose memory they are trying to gain insight into. The death-squad members choose various styles of re-enactment–from crime scenarios to musicals. I will focus on two re-enactments left the most intense impressions upon me.

 

Therefore, The Act of Killing is stylistically incoherent, episodic in nature, and constantly changing in style and tone. For every murder recreated, there is a unique cast, style of cinematography, and atmosphere. One of the first killings casts children as the assassin’s and target. Although initially appearing tongue-in-cheek, this choice is perhaps the most disturbing of all–seeing this rendition through an innocent facade is highly unnerving, accentuating the ruthless nature of the act.

 

Another killing involves family members of the victim. The family members are unable to maintain composure during the shoot. They have still not recovered from the psychological wound inflicted by their family member’s death. In contrast, the man who sanctioned the murder calmly ridicules the family’s softness–he shows no sign of remorse, no sign of conscience.

 

The vignette nature of The Act of Killing emphasizes an important point–the cinema or television viewing screen, through which we receive ever-increasing amounts of information, is anything but objective. Someone always has an agenda, an ideological filter which transforms the viewing conditions of information. Some sensationalize, some propagandize, some omit. Regardless, the realization that the same story can be told several different ways to different affects is an important lesson–we should be skeptical of the screen, because the screen is not truth, it is a facade.

 

Moreover, I personally reflected on the number of deaths I have seen on cinema and television screens. Most of the deaths I see on screen are pretend, fictional deaths in Hollywood films or network TV shows. Although I develop feelings for characters and empathize with their losses, at some level I understand these feelings aren’t real–they’re a reaction to a falsehood, after all. The Act of Killing lead me to consider exactly to what extent I have been desensitized not only to the physical act of violence, but the long-lasting psychological damage it inflicts.

 

I credit the documentary’s style: over-emphasis of the re-enactment. Since every segment is jarringly different in style, I am constantly reminded that no matter how visceral the experience, I am not seeing the real thing. I am seeing a mere shadow of the horror inflicted upon a nation of innocents. A mere fraction of the terrible things humanity can conspire to inflict upon itself. Something to think about, something to remember, something to constantly be on guard against.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD5oMxbMcHM

 

What: Alfred Hitchcock’s Academy Award winning film, Spellbound

Where: The Michigan Theater

When: RIGHT NOW

How Much: $10 Adult, $8 Student w/ID (only available at the door)

Why: Thrills, chills, and Gregory Peck…it’s gonna be awesome!