ReImagined Project
Researcher: Prof. Johnny Poon
ReImagined Project
Researcher:
In his book, The Shape of Time published in 1962, George Kubler asks such questions as the nature of time, the nature of change, and the meaning of invention. In a study of formal and symbolic durations, Kubler presents a radically new approach to the problem of historical change. He proposes to replace the notion of style as the basis for histories of art with the concept of historical sequence and continuous change across time. Kubler’s notion still adumbrates the critical and theoretical concerns of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. To date, Kubler’s concept has never been employed in the larger context of the performing arts where different fields of art are assembled for the investigation of how contrasting forms of performing arts co-exist within the flow of time and space and the place of art objects within a larger continuum. Kubler’s view of historical sequence aligned on continuous change forms the basis for this research. It aims to test the limits of Kubler’s concepts and demonstrate the result of an assemblage of art created for artistic interface of music, dance, theatre, visual media, videography and technology in a cross-cultural context through processes of reinvention, replication, and mutation – through which form and style are in continuous conversation through time. The media production presented here captures the live performance of five contemporary works juxtaposed with movements from a 17th century instrumental piece framed by the harpsichord concerto in a sequence of dialogues that moves back and forth in time (1673 – 2017) and across cultures (east and west) and cities (Barcelona, New York, Toronto, Austin, Madrid, Katowice, Hong Kong). This research produces a novel performance practice combining previously disparate styles, media, genres, and periods within a single body of work.
24, 25 March 2017 / Hong Kong City Hall Theatre
Collegium Musicum Hong Kong / Johnny M Poon