Performanthropica (Anacreontic)

“Performanthropica,” developed within the online residency “Negentropy Nexus: Reimagining Electronic Opera – Art and Technology in the Post-Digital Age,” is an experimental meta-project that explores the intersection of performance, art, and technology, framed by the aesthetic and conceptual realms of hyperobjects, speculative futures, and post-digital aesthetics. The project thrives within the boundaries between performative visual art and technology, exploring creative possibilities in the post-digital era.

At its core, “Performanthropica” is an interactive generative system entirely programmed in Processing 4. The system is customizable at the software level, offering a flexible platform for artists and performers to engage with it in unique ways. What makes “Performanthropica” unique is its ability to respond in real time to the gestures of the performer, captured by the computer’s webcam, as well as through the use of the keyboard to manipulate several functions and parameters. This creates a dynamic, ever-evolving interaction between human and machine, where each performance becomes a singular artistic expression, irreproducible in its precise form. The system’s real-time responsiveness ensures that the gestures, movements, and spoken words of the performer directly shape the visual output, generating a continuous dialogue between performer and artwork.

The project situates itself within the speculative landscapes of hyperobjects – entities that transcend human understanding and temporal scales – inviting performers and audiences to contemplate the larger, interconnected systems in which we exist. The post-digital aesthetic is central to this work, acknowledging the saturation of digital technologies, augmented imagery and glitches in contemporary culture while moving beyond their superficial applications to explore deeper, more speculative engagements with poetry and self-expression.

By integrating spoken word performance with an algorithmically generated environment, “Performanthropica” posits new ways to redefine contemporary performance. It challenges conventional notions of fixed compositions or scripted narratives, replacing them with a fluid, performative space where art, technology, and human presence continually redefine one another. This project offers a forward-thinking approach to performance art, suggesting new modes of expression and interaction in a rapidly evolving digital and post-digital world.

As a proof of concept/pilot of “Performanthropica”, the author presents “Anacreontic”, a performative rendition of 17th Century English lyric poet and cleric Robert Herrick’s poem by the same name.

Anacreontic
A poem by Robert Herrick (public domain)

I must
Not trust
Here to any;
Bereav'd,
Deceiv'd
By so many:
As one
Undone
By my losses;
Comply
Will I
With my crosses;
Yet still
I will
Not be grieving,
Since thence
And hence
Comes relieving.
But this
Sweet is
In our mourning;
Times bad
And sad
Are a-turning:
And he
Whom we
See dejected,
Next day
We may
See erected