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demonstrate, for the first time, that several performing artists, all of whom would be separated by
oceans and geography, could appear and perform together in the same live image. Everyone would
see themselves all together, standing next to each other, able to talk with each other, and perform
together in "A performance space with no geographic boundaries".
Hole-in-Space took these earlier explorations and technological experiments fully into the public
domain and was hailed as “a historic event” by The Village Voice.
While the history of art and technology – in particular the distributed and interactive networked
performance which is the subject of this study – covers a relatively short period so far, one cannot
deny the long shadows and pervasive influence of earlier figures. Contributions to the
conceptualisation and presentation of later works are widely attributed to avant-garde artists and
cultural luminaries of the 20 th century such as Rudolf Laban, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Merce
Cunningham, Emile Jaques-Dalcroze and many more. These curious-minded and creative innovators
often anticipated and projected technologies long before they were actually invented.
Several timelines created by researchers, online and for exhibitions, as well as other references are
quoted in the histories section of vm_explore more chapter.
research concepts_challenges_discoveries
Since this research into virtual mobility arose from the commitment of On-the-Move to inform and
support international mobility in the contemporary performing arts, one starting point was: in a time
of environmental anxiety and economic crisis, isn’t virtual mobility the obvious solution to physical
mobility in the performing arts Doesn’t virtual mobility provide an intelligent alternative to meet
growing concerns about the unsustainable financial and environmental costs of international
touring, project development and co-productions
If only it were that simple…
The excited atoms research rapidly uncovered a huge body of work and multiple spheres of
interconnected networked communities of artists, practitioners and contributors with years of
involvement in the ideas, technologies, creativity and practice in this field. As in the OTM survey
(described in vm_introduction), motivations essentially focus on artistic creativity and
communication. Financial and environmental concerns or finding alternatives to physical mobility
seem, at first glance, to be less visible.
Another early realisation was that very little of this art work is labelled as or located within the
performing arts. Rather, it can be found in fields of new media, visual arts, installation and live art,
as well as in interdisciplinary practices such as ‘dance-technology’ – if it is indeed identified within
any specific artistic discipline. This work involves smart, thoughtful, connected, evolved and evolving
forms of interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary practice, the borders of which are constantly
shifting. It generates new ways of thinking about audiences, participation and presentation.
The placement of work in unexpected niches seems to be a result of the networked thinking and
non-hierarchical connections offered by the web – what cultural strategist Charles Leadbeater calls
“the logic of With”.
Alongside this has been what is perhaps a conscious turning away from traditional artform
categorisation by early adopters who have sought to build their own communities of practice (e.g.
excited atoms/On-the-Move.org mobility dossier/author: Judith Staines Page 9