People Are Talking: UMS presents Ryoji Ikeda’s...
Posted: 10/31/14
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PERFORMANCES & EVENTS
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All comments by Chris
People Are Talking: UMS presents Ryoji Ikeda’s superposition at Power Center:
I attended the performance along with other members of my class because it was mandatory. If I had not been a part of the class, I would not have even known that the performance was going on! I think the problem is partially advertising performances such as these to students as well as students naturally being drawn more to performances that are in their comfort zone like Schoolboy Q and 2Chainz. The performance definitely opened my eyes to the way that we perceive music and performances and I’m happy that I attended.
I was riveted by the performance. Ikeda beautifully combined visual patterns that I had always been fascinated with.
At times I got a bit dizzy by the sound volume and flashing lights, but maybe that is intended.
My wife hated every second of it, but my 15-year old son liked it a lot. I wanted to expose us all to a novel cultural experience and it worked on 2/3.
I was a bit disappointed that the hall was only half full. At the Penny Stamps lecture on Thursday, Michigan Theater was packed with undergrad students to see Ikeda, but it looks like only a handful went to the performance, despite the ticket cost being so low. There are 40,000 young, and supposedly open, minds in this city and when Michigan plays football, they pack the stadium, but when there are world-class dance music or theater performances very few come to see. Why is that? Is UMS maybe not advertising enough among students? I mentioned the low cost of UMS performances to undergrad acquaintances before and they did not know about it.
"by Uli Reinhardt
People Are Talking: UMS presents Ryoji Ikeda’s superposition at Power Center:
Ryoji Ikeda’s “Superposition” is defined by the dictionary as the “overlapping of waves.” In the most basic sense, this is certainly true. However, the waves this performance is concerned with are not those of displayed on the screen, but rather the clashing of two seemingly different disciplines: science and music.
Science is universally understood to be a formulaic discipline. There are laws that must be followed and equations that must be used, leaving little room for interpretation. Music, on the other hand, lends itself to more diverse interpretation. Each musician can communicate a unique message to his or her audience as they sit enraptured by the sound. “Superposition” draws upon both of these elements.
There is no denying the formulaic element of the performance before our eyes. The catalysts for much of the noise, the two humans, sit motionless as they surgically tap rhythm after rhythm. After each tap, waves appear on the large screen behind them, overlapping each other as they run from both sides of the monitor. Graphs and charts flash quickly before our eyes, followed by more pictures.
At the same time, we are aware of the musicality of the performance: the ever-present metronomic beeping in the background, the Dubstep-esque finale that blinds both our eyes and our ears, and the noises in general that are impossible to ignore.
“Superposition” is not only speaking of the overlapping waves that the two performers on stage are creating with their endless tapping, it is asking us to look even broader at the overlapping waves of music and science. It forces us to consider sound from a different perspective. The sounds on the stage, particularly the beeping from the data input, can be heard in many variations in our everyday life. How much music do we fail to acknowledge everyday and how much music do we unwittingly create?