Susan Tooke at Long Branch Studios

We had an exciting rehearsal today, with all of the pieces coming together... Lukas Pearse creating an electroacoustic score, real-time video processing.  Infra-red sensors allow for Veronique MacKenzie to enter the animations; her exquisite choreography touches the heart.  I am so happy to be part of this collaboration.  Tim Tracey was invaluable in his technical and artistic advice. The following are several stills from the animation/videos.

I am working on an exciting project with Veronique MacKenzie(dancer/choreographer and Lukas Pearse (sound design) for the 100th memorial of the sinking of the Titanic.  The image is from video of Veronique taken by Tim Tracey and further developed by me... It will be an exciting show.  Please come! " Large-scale projection pulls us into the haunting and tragic story of the maiden voyage of the Titanic with layers of animation and historical images. Combined with live dance performance and captured by infrared camera, they are woven into ghostly images using real-time video processing. This abstract narrative retells a story of courage and the ensuing darkness that overtook them on that fateful night. The immersive sound score draws into the emotion of the event and underwater imagery pulls us down to the final resting place and into the Depths of Sorrow. Depths of Sorrow: A multimedia performance with visual artist and animator Susan Tooke, audio/visual composer Lukas Pear...

Veronique MacKenzie (dancer/choreographer), Lukas Pearse (sound designer) and I have been working on a collaborative project involving movement, animation, and sound, with each of these elements responding and interacting with the other.  Last night at Nocturne in Halifax, we presented our explorations  to the public.  A truly absorbing and expanding experience, working with these two great professionals in other disciplines.  Thanks to Richard Rudnicki for help with set up, take down and photography.  Here are some images from last night. View of crowd at gate with one of the projections above. Looking down Granville Street with projection down the block. Lukas Pearse, with his complex technical setup was the master puppeteer. At 9, Lukas went off to another gig, after instructing me on how to run the sound, blend the videos with the live dance.  View from Granville Street with all three projections.   All of the projections were ...

I have been here at Banff for about 10 days.  Veronique MacKenzie and Lukas Pearse are here working with me.  It has been wonderful working with these two dedicated artists.  We seem to be overcoming obstacles and getting on with the project which is starting to come together.  I have been going back decades to my days at the New School in New York, where I was immersed in animation of the stop motion sort, plus painting under the camera.  In the photo you see some of my figures which I am working with... miniature Vs have a life all their own.

After an early rise, a long flight and a long drive, I am at the Banff Centre.  I will be working for the next two weeks on Motion Activated, a multi-disciplinary art piece with Veronique MacKenzie and Lukas Pearse. I am diving  back into animation, a practice I was studying 33 years ago, before I became a painter.  Here is a view from my window...

Another challenge-- Learning the Flash program to animate segments of dance collaborating with Veronique MacKenzie and Lukas Pearse.  Off to Banff to do some serious studying.