The roots of “multiculturalism” historically was a practice called “la convivencia." Also known as coexistence, this idea was brought to existence by Christian, Jew and Muslim people of Spain in 14th and 15th century. Harmony of interests among people rendered people of Spain powerful while rest of Europe went through “dark ages.” The brief period in history when this intercultural and interfaith cooperation were achieved, is still a source of inspiration for some like Loreena McKenitt. Migration has contributed to globalization yet people are finding it difficult to belong somewhere specific while they belong to elsewhere as well. In the age of almost perfect mobility, physical motion does not necessarily bring spiritual and psychological motion along. Over a long period of time, we become more aware of our distinct identity and culture which in turn reflect on to our perspectives, lifestyles, thought patterns and etc. Though coexistence is something that I always promote and work for, I never thought about incorporating such a concept into my multimedia work. Then, I read and studied works of Vibeke Sorensen.
Nature, for Sorensen, has all it takes to unite mankind. Yet, men are apart. That doesn’t mean that we never come together. I have been in many occasions where I came to realize a strong source of power that held people together: world music. This is genre that is rich in context and carrying beats from a different part of the world. It’s not only mixing music but also mixing genres to appeal as many people as possible. Think about it: African percussion with Spanish music, Algerian folk rhythms with French, European Techno with Middle Eastern beats.I think I particularly enjoy the idea of unifying distinct features of cultures through music.
For my final project I want to use world music, animation, light and dance and blend them into a piece that will reflect different colors as different cultures. I am hoping to combine these elements in an alternative space constructed with aid of various programs. I like having subjects in my work and I like having stories evolve around characters. I will be using footage from dance performances of my friends and previous footage I compiled for my previous multimedia class. The 4th animation assignment in a way reflects my initial ideas about my final project. I want the end product to be something in between a music video and a "dreamscape" which will have a storyline. This will require creating/mixing a musical piece which I can later incorporate to my animations. I'm still finding it difficult to find the ultimate direction this idea is heading.
Some examples of music videos that I found inspiring:
Paper planes (M.I.A.) from Cedric GODART on Vimeo.
and music by Paris Combo.
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