Perfect Human Performance (1)

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This second performance in the Language Game series takes place in public space, using portable radios to broadcast spoken word feedback and a new customized edition of the Puppeteer motion-capture suit.Perfect Human is a performance Inspired by Joergen Leth's 1967 short film "The Perfect Human" and Lars von Trier's "The Five Obstructions" (2003). The performer wears a costume with integrated fabric bend sensors, which sense her movement and wirelessly transmit this information to a nearby computer.The performance takes the text from the original film and introduces the obstructions of performance and non-linear narration. The original text is cut up into blocks and the performer is presented with a game like situation in which certain words and segments of sentences were mapped to the movement of certain body parts. The performer has to first learn which movements trigger which spoken fragments before she can try to speak the full sentence. As the performer becomes familiar with the system, she starts to play with the system by intentionally repeating or creating alternative sentences. Once a sentence is intentionally spoken correctly the performer moves on to the “next level”, the next sentence and a new mapping.The words triggered by the performer's movements are played by a computer and transmitted to portable radios surrounding the performance space. The performance takes place in public, marked by two white squares on the ground. One framed and one full. While the framed square remains empty, the performer is free to move, to experiment and play the game within the full square. And she speaks with the objective voice of somebody observing and analyzing. When a member of the audience enters the framed square, the performer begins to copy their movements, allowing them to explore the system through the mirroring of movement. When the audience becomes involved, the voice switches to a recording of the performer's voice spoken from the subjective perspective.The performance ends with a poem chosen by the performer. It is a Croatian poem that the performer recited as a child and still knows off by heart. This is a reference to the song sung by the actor in the original movie, when he was given the freedom to improvise during the shoot. In contrast to the observing voice, the poem is recited by the subjective voice of the performer.The Perfect Human is performed by Ivana Kalc. Ivana is a dancer, performer and choreographer who studied German and history in Croatia, and dance in Austria. She lives and works between Croatia, Austria and Germany.

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