Synchronization in Visual/Interactive frameworks
- Palak Barmaiya
- Feb 7, 2022
- 2 min read
As they say, for artists, the world is their canvas. They have found a way to create artistic expression using tools that were available to them. While tools provide a medium to create a work of art, it is an artist’s imagination that we see in their artwork. Artists work with many concepts depending on the art but one common concept that has inspired many artists is synchronization.
The Butoh dance video features powerful dance movements and was performed on live music in 2006 at a local shrine. Butoh dance was originated in 1959 by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno, and was created ‘in part a reaction to post-war shock as well as the influx of western influence on Japanese dance.’ There is no definition of this dance form but it is characterized by slow dance movements performed by white-painted dancers on instrumental music. Butoh dance form revolves around the themes of the dark side of humans. The synchronized dance movements combined with facial expressions are powerful enough to tell stories of grief and loss. The Butoh dance video performed on live music in 2006 at a local shrine is a good example of combining the synchronized routine with other elements such as location.
With the advent of technology, artists had new tools to create art and experiment. Technology has aided artists to express themselves in a way that allows them to combine the elements of visual and audio storytelling in multiple ways, including synchronization. VJing technology was a revolutionary development that let artists create real time visual performance in synchronization to music.
The ‘Coldcut & Hexstatic - Timber’ video that came out in 1998 is an example of experimental use of a VJing software. The video, created for Greenpeace, features two electronic music duos combined electronic music with visuals to narrate a story on the deforestation of timber. The visuals in the video are synchronized with the audio using various effects. In current culture, the video can be described as “psychedelic” or “trippy.” Another project by the Coldcut and Hexstatic team, Natural Rhythm, synchronized animal movements to music.
Laws of nature support a system that tends to synchronize things. Synchronization of metronomes, pendulums, flight patterns of birds, cells of an organ, and others are just some of the few examples of synchronization that exist in nature. The concept has inspired many visual frameworks including VJing, performance arts, data visualizations, digital artwork and others.
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