The Brain Stripped Bare

Rebecca Allen

The Brain Stripped Bare ,
Documents
  • The Brain Stripped Bare, 2002
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  • The Brain Stripped Bare, 2002
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Description
This work considers a future where we live simultaneously in multiple realities, where the boundaries between physical and virtual reality are blurred and thoughts are expressed telepathically.

Advanced technology can provide an enhanced life experience but with this comes sophisticated forms of surveillance that track our behaviors, our movements and our identity. Technology can strip away our layers of privacy.

In this performance both the body and the mind are exposed. Unlike traditional theater that separates the audience from the performers, the performers surround and infiltrate the audience.

Surrounded by a circle of screens the audience is free to shift their point of view. Live performers merge with shadows, projected images and sounds, revealing stark human forms that move in startling and perplexing ways. This creates a raw, very physical yet illusory interactive experience that connects an audience to a performance in a way not previously explored.

(Rebecca Allen)
Keywords
  • aesthetics
    • acoustic
    • animated
    • real-time
  • genres
    • installations
      • interactive installations
      • mixed reality
      • virtual reality (VR)
    • performance art
      • multimedia performances
  • subjects
    • Body and Psychology
      • bodies (animal components)
    • Media and Communication
      • communication
    • Power and Politics
      • surveillance
    • Society and Culture
      • privacy
  • technology
    • displays
      • electronic displays
        • projection screens
        • projectors
Technology & Material
Hardware
2 dancers
5 projection screens
5 synchronized DVD-players
1 Audio Spotlight
Installation Requirements / Space
circular space approximately 10.5 meters (35 ft) in diameter
Bibliography