College of Computing: Some costumes are so large and expansive, it makes the person wearing them appear as if they are carrying an unbelievably heavy load on their shoulders. Built on techniques in the traditional craft of wire-bending, these costumes and dancing sculptures are dynamic and performative and decorated with painted textiles, feathers, and beads.
6 comments:
It was really interesting to hear a bit about the history of these costumes. I hate to see these types of specialized practices and skills fade away because artists do not have folks interested in being mentored in the craft. I'm so glad this researcher took on the challenge of recording the technique and art of this particular craft. It's really cool to me that Noel devoted a lot of his graduate and post graduate studies to something so specific and unique to his culture. I am super intrigued by his ideas to incorporate technology and by doing so making this more accessible to folks traditionally left out of the practice. I think this is a trend we will probably see transfer to other crafts and areas; the idea that we can use technology to work with us to continue these art forms while preserving the cultural and artistic integrity.
This is a really interesting article especially in the way that Noel talks about using the computing to carry on the traditions of a dying art. It is always sad to see beautiful traditions die out with generations because of lack of interest or ability to pass them along to younger generations. I am so glad to see that she is combatting this as well as making it more accessible for groups of people who may not have traditionally had a chance to participate. I was also interested in the section where she talks about how carnival has been changing in the modern day and how she thinks that her technology can sustain some of the older traditions in the new age to keep them alive, and even bring some of them back. I love that she is incorporating art and technology as well as tradition and modernity and technology. It is important to keep evolving, yet to keep tradition and art alive.
One of my favorite parts of the articles is the part where they describe how material practice is in fact a language and is something that tells the history and culture as well as describes the world. That makes so much sense to me because these crafts can/are very specific to a lot of cultures and have been passed down from generation to generation and also are at risk of disappearing. I think that phrase also does a good job of acknowledging the true impact of this type of work. It is interesting to hear about their thought process to revive and make the practice better for the next generation. A part of me hopes that they won’t lose the art by integrating so much computer technology, but they also bring up a really great point which is that they can make the practice more accessible to a range of people.
I think this is a good and interesting article. Not only does it discuss some of the history of Carnival but it also explains why certain parts are starting to die out. Vernelle A.A. Noel has a deep understanding of the work that goes into constructing the costumes, and is actively trying to find a way to save the practices that are dying out. Mainly by finding more ways to make the at-risk practices more accessible to those that the practices were not historically accessible to. She is also finding ways to document the techniques used to make the costumes by using computational approaches. She also talked about how she noticed a change in trends on the costumes that were made and decided to figure out why. I would be interested to see this exhibit at Georgia Tech, and years down the line to see how it helped revive the at-risk practices of building the costumes for Carnival.
This is my first time hearing of this costuming tradition of wire-bending and I feel as if I have been introduced to a entire new realm of possibilities! I appreciate how this article gives credit to the original creators of this craft being that of Trinidad and Tobago. I am really big on giving credit especially to POC voices within the fashion and costuming industry. Through knowing where this tradition of wire-bending comes from the article does well in demonstrating how this art correlates to these countries large Carnival festival. I have always been fascinated by the costumes depicted in these carnivals because of their structure, uniqueness, the form in which they posses on the body and the abundance of colors that they possessed. Thus, through wire bending this is made possible and is why it is a necessity to keep practices such as wire-bending alone and understand its significance and origin.
I clicked on this article because I am intrigued by carnival alot and the history behind it. So I loved how this article included that and the history of how carnival works. I think it is really important to acknowledge how art and theater are ever-changing to the current times and technology. I feel like the same can be said about the carnival industry and how even though there tradiations it is important to change and keep some things to current times. I find it really interesting how they are using wire bending and molding it to save the industry. The fact that they are using crafts and making it into something that can be a new side of carnival I think is really interesting. I really didn't know about wire bending and I feel like it is something that is an older tradition but can be seen as a newer aspect to save carnival.
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