FROM THE B TO THE D AND BACK AGAIN

“From the D to the B and Back Again” incorporated live video and audio streaming between Spread Art in Brooklyn, NY and Whitdel Arts in Detroit, MI in a continuous live performance feedback loop.

The performance in Detroit included two channels of video side by side. The left began with a real-time mix of photos of visual artwork in Whitdel’s exhibition opening that evening. This video (without audio) was streamed live to Spread Art in Brooklyn and projected while Thomas Bell performed a live sound score with a prepared piano sound board.

Thomas’ performance (video and audio) and audience reactions/participation were captured by Hiroshi Shafer and also streamed live over the internet. The live stream from Brooklyn was the second/right video channel projected in Detroit, and the sound source for Detroit. This double projection in Detroit was then incorporated into the live stream being projected in Brooklyn. In Detroit, Christina deRoos used a laptop, two projectors, a live video feed and Isadora to mix the two channels of video. Spread Art used two ustream channels for the live streaming.

Both Hiroshi Shafer (Brooklyn) and Christina deRoos (Detroit) incorporated live video feeds to create, at times, a double feedback video loop.

The performance was presented in Brooklyn during Spread Art’s opening night of Summer Group Show V (held annually during Bushwick Open Studios). In Detroit the performance was presented during the opening of the Partners in Crime exhibition at Whitdel Arts.

Aside from continuing the artists’ interest in collaboration, this performance was an opportunity to experiment with events that occur simultaneously in multiple physical locations, yet also unfold uniquely in each location. This is a platform the artists will continue to explore and refine, with a goal to foster international collaborations in performance and visual art, especially with artists located in areas where opportunities to express and share a creative vision are limited.