Study 1 Perceptions: Stuck or UNstuck? (2016)

(Evening length work exploring target fixation and the moth effect.)

It is said to be an evolutionary short circuit that moths are attracted to light and flame even at the fate of their demise.   The nocturnal insects practice an action called transverse orientation in which they maintain a fixed angle to a distant light. The moth hovers in air moving closer and closer towards the bright light or flame drawn in by an act called target fixation. Pilots can also experience target fixation loosing command of voluntary control concentrating intently on the details of an illumination causing them to deviate off course. In either case, the demonstration of obsessed attraction can ultimately dictate tragedy or even termination.  The fixation towards a luminous point resulting in loss of awareness around a person or a creature can be referred to as, The Moth Effect.

 “Study 1: Perceptions, Stuck or UNstuck," illustrates the physical manifestation of target fixation through the lens of a moth. The four performers go on a highly physical, visceral ride identifying the impulses surrounded by a singular directional pull, and the dynamics within a linear path.  

Artistic Direction: Jennifer Glaws, Performers: Emma Barber, Lindsay Bullock, Non Edwards and Susanne Grochett, Sound Design: Dan Dukich

PERFORMANCES:

Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Ave. S, Minneapolis MN 55408,  January 21-23, 2016

Tour (In Progress), Milwaukee WI, July 2015 

Tour, Sans Limits Danse Festival, New York City, NY, June 2016