The work of Japanese artist and dancer Hiroaki Umeda will remain in Pittsburgh with his "Intensional Particle and Mold 1 Installation," a video installation on display at the Wood Street Galleries downtown through March 19.
In Intensional Particle Installation (Adapted Version), Umeda reinterprets particles in space as not static molecules but rather as 'active particles (or, mass points)'; and, visualizes, in space, the 'intensional force' that particles conceal.The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Wood Street Galleries is located at 601 Wood St. (map). It's open 11 to 6 on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 to 8 on Friday and Saturday, and 11 to 5 on Sunday.
The corporeal, the photic, and the sonar forces converge in exponential speed, and, at one point, it reaches the critical point of energy. Yet, the extremity is not sustained for long as it once again reverts to a temporal equanimity by going through phase transitions. The transient shapes of digital particles which conjure images of dissolution of solids, sublimation of liquids, and algorithms of heat transference, synchronizes and synthesizes with one’s movements – yielding an entire universe that dances like a living organism.
Viewers will experience a digital reality saturated with 'unstable stability': the raging streamlines vanishes after a minute, and the luminous waterfall vaporizes after a second. Therefore, despite the existence of an explosive canvas soaked with digital curvatures right before our eyes, it simultaneously gives us a fragile impression. When an evanescent expression per se of the body is embedded within the architecture of lights, which moves incessantly to maintain a split-second stability, sooner or later, the audience realizes that everything on stage will vanish in the next moment. As if to embody the ephemeral aesthetics underpinning the piece, here, the invisible forces come to the fore and the visual universe sink out of sight. Yet, the residue of heat still simmering after the experience of an informational overload will linger long in the viewers’ bodies.
Mold 1 Installation
Mold 1 Installation is Umeda’s experiment of choreographing a digital object. In fact, this approach is not far from what he does in theatre—it is a digital version of his dance performances. In this video piece, the physics simulation program is used to realize the organic fluid movement, as with the body.
About Hiroaki Umeda
Hiroaki Umeda is a choreographer and a multidisciplinary artist recognized as one of the leading figures of the Japanese avant-garde art scene. Since the launch of his company S20, his subtle yet violent dance pieces have toured around the world to audience and critical acclaim. His work is acknowledged for the highly holistic artistic methodology with strong digital background, which considers not only physical elements as dance, but also optical, sensorial and, above all, spatiotemporal components as part of the choreography. Based on his profound interest in choreographing time and space, Umeda has spread his talent not only as a choreographer and dancer, but also as a composer, lighting designer, scenographer, and visual artist.
Drawing further from his now signature style of mixing digital imagery, minimal soundscape, and extremely potent corporeality, Umeda’s solo works such as Holistic Strata (2011), split flow (2013) and Intensional Particle (2015) have transfixed the audience in major festivals and theatres worldwide. Umeda has been appointed the first resident choreographer at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No. 1 for two years as of April 2022.
Strobe effects and other intense lighting and sound will be used during this exhibition. This exhibition may not be safe for those with light or sound sensitivities.