[vivo media arts centre: net(work)]

http://blogs.eciad.ca/mcomstock/category/vivo-performances/

On a side note the interior room looked nothing like this photo

A first time experience heading to the vivo media centre I had only the visuals of the invitation to imagine this building. Quite near was it from the skytrain at main.
There were some recognizable faces lined up already even though I had only just arrived at 8:00 sharp.

Upon entering the doors was slightly caught off guard with a line of camera men filming our entry. Near the center was a block of chairs for centered performances and a large screen behind.

Each artful performance had the use of motion whether using the screen in the back, their own bodies, or even interacting with the audience members.

The performances at the best of my memory in no particular order:

- Individual painting herself with blue paint

- A person creating wearable items with garbage with a screen playing in the background of a similar scene except the lady in the film eventually takes off all of the garbage leaving it on the green grass looking somewhat stunned

-A speaker showing the audience an empowering lecture about ‘Manifesting success and achieving the greatness within”

-A piece that implied that you do not need to speak the language to understand consumerist products and what they are meant to do.

-The screen projected quotes and created audience interaction for them to use their bodies to make shadows

-Uneasiness happened when an unknown animal-like costumed person, covered in fabric, on top of stilts paraded around the room in a slow pace that reflected a mysterious atmosphere.

- A person in a black box used his only his limbs and objects to evoke the sense of emotion without the physical movement of the entire body and sans facial expressions to judge by. Quite successful overall but couldn’t help but feel goose-bumps.

While the center performances were being filmed, surrounding the outer walls were individual stations dedicated to the performances that were featured in the center of the room.

There were also some that were not featured as center performance pieces:

-A table set up with curry powder on plates I was not quite sure the meaning behind. Perhaps awareness of a culture or scents?

-A booth set up with headphones and a variety of music promoting individual ‘private’ dancing where spectators would question what song the person was listening to depending on their body movements.

Overall an interesting night with the combination of media, video, sound, interactive arts and ultimately awareness.I would have liked to have seen more individual pieces showcased, but the show seemed limited to the number of applicants.

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Found the official site here: http://www.vivomediaarts.com/

And the list of applicants are as follows:

Anna White
Ashley Howe
Dalia Levy
Emilio Rojas
Francis & Patrick Cruz
Francisco Fernando-Granados
Genevieve Cloutier
Glena Evans
Ikbal Singh
Jaclyn Blumes
Jason Fielding
Manolo Lugo
Naufus Ramirez-Figueroa
Ram Rung Kaur / Martina Comstock

And a group dedicated to the vivo media arts center with updated information here:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=630145421&ref=profile#/group.php?sid=ef0f8796f615af56abc07c811d7f485e&gid=24992914148