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Copyright 2011 by Dawn Kramer
Body of Water is a two part video installation. It begins with single channel projections on three screens showing several silent video-movement poems made in different parts of the world, including the coast of Maine, Kyoto, Japan, Westwood, Massachusetts and the Ligurean coast of Italy. These short site-specific videos envision the human figure at a small scale or more embedded in our marine/terrestrial environment, thus imagining a better balance between the two.
It is followed by a performance by Dawn Kramer in a video projection environment. Body of Water explores the delicate relationship between human beings and the sea. The earth's surface is covered with about 71% water, with less than 1% of it available to support all living things. The human body is filled with 55%-78% water that is remarkably similar to seawater in its chemical composition. Humans and the sea are deeply connected, yet the negative human impact on our oceans has been vast. The work also continues exploring the mysteries of Buddhist philosophy, questioning the boundaries of “self.”
Stephen Buck manipulated video imagery through Isadora software and composer Antony Flackett aka DJ Flack created music for the piece. Sara Marhamo (Industrial Stitchers Guild) created the costumes.
Body of Water was started in a residency at the Liguria Study Center where Dawn was a Fellow of the Bogliasco Foundation in the Fall of 2010. The work has continued with the support of the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and the MassArt Foundation. We thank them very much.
The six single channel videos:
Poesia Liguria, shot on the coastal rocks of Nervi, a small neighborhood adjacent to the town of Bogliasco, in Italy.
Pool, shot at The Center at Westwoods in Massachusetts.
Haiku, shot at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts
(can be seen elsewhere on the website)
We shot three works at three temples in Kyoto with the assistance of a grant from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Foundation:
Honen-in
Shunko-in
Taizo-in