{"id":18271,"date":"2023-11-22T11:05:30","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T17:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/?p=18271"},"modified":"2023-11-22T11:10:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T17:10:34","slug":"student-creativity-performances-highlight-altered-soundstates-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pvfa.tamu.edu\/news\/2023\/11\/22\/student-creativity-performances-highlight-altered-soundstates-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Creativity, Performances Highlight ‘Altered [Sound]States’ Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Exploring and tuning into an altered state of consciousness was the focus of \u201cAltered [Sound]States\u201d on Nov. 17 at the Black Box Theater in the Liberal Arts and Arts and Humanities Building (LAAH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The colorful evening, funded by the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts<\/a> and Performance Studies<\/a> program, included music, student performance projects and a guest performance by IOSIS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students showcased what they learned in Altered States and Performance Seminar, taught by Dr. Kim Kattari<\/a>, Performance Studies undergraduate program director, which analyzes the relationship between performance and altered states of consciousness. While psychoactive substances are one means for producing an altered state, Kattari said, her course explores a wide spectrum of altered state experiences, such as those induced by dreams, meditation, dance, music, acting and ritual performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was inspired by \u201cBurning Man<\/a>,\u201d which is an exercise in living alternatively, Kattari said. Burning Man is an opportunity for creatives to gather, explore and share art in different ways, as it values radical self-expression, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes you don\u2019t get the \u2018burn\u2019 you wanted, but the \u2018burn\u2019 you needed,\u201d Kattari said after the event. \u201cI research these communities and their performance of utopia. I hope as students are going out into the world, they remember what a utopia can be and feel like, so that they can manifest that in their everyday life. They also learned that performance can be used to understand and change the world, and that altered states can influence and inspire those performances. I hope they take that out into their own creative practices.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
IOSIS performed a 30-minute electroacoustic set. Photo by Chris Jarvis, Texas A&M University Division of Marketing and Communications.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alex Bissen, a musician, sound designer and composer who performs as IOSIS, performed a 30-minute electroacoustic set of music that is drone-based, meaning it has long and sustained notes and chords, accompanied by visual graphics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was later joined by Dr. Will Connor<\/a>, Performance Studies instructor, and students in Small Ensembles and Electronic Composition classes for an improvisational performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IOSIS said he hoped his performances allowed students to enter an altered state of consciousness. He said he appreciated working with students and seeing what they had to offer to the performance piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seemed like they were able to relax and be without expectation and just be able to let go,\u201d he said. \u201cI was trying to kind of provide a pulse to the performance, and it seemed like they quickly latched onto that, and it was great to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the performances, guests were given glow sticks and invited to run around a simulated fire, which is an expressive practice in the community of Burning Man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guests were then invited to wander the first and second floors of LAAH to view projects made in Kattari\u2019s course. Each of the nine student projects reflected the relationship between altered states of consciousness and the arts, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Guests could walk through “Aggie Manor,” a haunted house to evoke an altered state through fear. Photo by Chris Jarvis, Texas A&M University Division of Marketing and Communications.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

R\u00f3is\u00edn Alexis, a Performance Studies major, and her group created \u201cAggie Manor,\u201d a haunted house to evoke an altered state through fear. It featured four students performing as creepy characters that chased guests out of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen people hear \u2018altered states of consciousness\u2019 they automatically think \u2018drugs\u2019 right away,\u201d Alexis said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not. An altered state can be created by exhaustion, panic, fear. Anything that is different from your normal state is an altered state of consciousness. My group really wanted something to do with fear and the aspect of that, and what better way to do that than with a haunted house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other projects included \u201cTrippy Art Installation,\u201d featuring abstract RGB paintings that changed designs due to colorful blinking LED lights. \u201cNeon Harmony\u201d featured a dance room with flashing lights and upbeat music. There were several stations in the hallways where guests could draw, color, dance or make kandi bracelets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desiree Camacho, a Performance Studies major, and her group created \u201cThreaded Meditation,\u201d described as a calming space to evoke a meditative altered state. Upon entry, the room was covered in blue lighting and the sound of calming nature soundscapes. Guests could sit or lay among pillows and blankets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMeditation is a form of hypnosis, but it is more to get yourself centered in a way,\u201d Camacho said. \u201cIn Dr. Kattari\u2019s class, she talks about the complexities of altered states of consciousness. When you are not in your normal state, you are in an altered state, and you experience all kinds of things, whether that be good, bad, scary or sad. And meditation is a way for you to center yourself and ground yourself so you can become your normal state again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kattari referenced the \u201cPLUR\u201d concept from the Burning Man and electronic dance music communities \u2014 meaning peace, love, unity and respect \u2014 and said there was an abundance of it at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt this university we help develop engaged, informed citizens of the world, and PLUR is good for that,\u201d she said. \u201cI think having experienced the PLUR philosophy, students can take PLUR out into the real world, and think about how the performances they make can be grounded in the ethos of PLUR.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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