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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Kagemu's 'Black Sun' Synchronizes Projected Video With Japanese Dance - by Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg - Entertainment - The Atlantic

Excerpt from a longer interview:

"Black Sun is a meticulously choreographed projection of motiongraphics onto dance, combining traditional and modern elements of Japanese culture and martial arts. Artist Nobuyuki Hanabusa and dancer Katsumi Sakakura, together known as Kagemu, have since been widely imitated by others, including Beyoncé.

Hanabusa talks about the creative process behind the innovative performance and his take on the Beyoncé story.

The Atlantic: What is your artistic background? How did you come to work in the medium of projected motion graphics?

Nobuyuki Hanabusa: I am very influenced by Ukiyoe (Japanese woodblock prints) artists such as Hokusai Katsushika, but more than that, Japanese comics and movies with VFX like Star Wars have influenced me a lot. I love to imagine invisible things from childhood.

Black Sun draws on traditional Japanese theater, martial arts and aesthetics to create something totally modern. How did you collaborate with Orientarhythm to develop this piece? What was your inspiration?

When I was thinking about creating something mixed of live action and video picture, I met Orientarhythm and we created the unit called Kagemu. Since space on dance stages is limited, we came up with this process that enables our performance with simple equipment. After a continuing process of trial and error, Katsumi Sakakura, the dancer, and I refined our idea.

There has always been a culture in Japan that values the minimum, such as the simplest design expresses the perspective of the world. The culture takes root in graphics and influences Black Sun, which leads us to portray Japan without images like ‘geisha’ or ‘Fujiyama.'..."

Posted via email from Siobhan O'Flynn's 1001 Tales

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