kontrapunkt-headline

kontrapunkt –
interactive performance environment

interactive installation: design, concept, development Degree Project at Design School of Mainz
2010

The kontrapunkt interactive installation presents the expressive, improvisational skills of Argentinean tango performers.

The real-time tracked motion of the dancers is projected as a large scale spatial light show as a backdrop to the performance, converting the introverted nature of tango into a shared extroverted experience shared with the audience.

The dancers’ movements are tracked in real time and elements of the dance performance, such as body shapes and the motion of the moment, are transmitted as motion interpreted by light, complimented by music visualization. With the original performance at the forefront, these two harmonious visual streams are joined in a new harmony, the “counterpoint”.

point against point

kontrapunkt (german) counterpoint

 

In music, the counterpoint is the relationship between voices that are harmonically interdependent (polyphony), yet independent in rhythm and contour. Commonly identified in classical music, the idea of counterpoint was significantly developing during the Renaissance and a common practice period during this period, especially in Baroque music. The term originates from the Latin -punctus contra punctum- meaning “point against point”.

Shapes are used to visualize the motion and the music. I combined contradictory formal language to outline the counterpoint, such as the angular with the circular or simple rectangles with complex ribbons.

The performance backdrop (8m by 4m) is a visual composition representing the music and the dance. Pairing motion tracking with maxMSP, music and motion visualization was generated using Processing.

I designed various visual outputs to track the motion and interpret and analyze the dance.

The visualized music stream complements the backdrop and provides the counterpoint to the dance performance. With its own visual language, it reflects the classical setup of a tango band and the specifics of tango music. The two modes of music, the angular and the pipes, are visually represented.

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Project Documentation