Listening to objects: developing sound techno-craft assemblages in the service of new relational imaginaries
The performing arts have historically been attached to the centrality of the human figure. Very little considered in the history of theater, the objects on stage and their performativity remain a blind spot in critical reflections on the anthropocentrism of this artistic discipline. We believe that the arts of puppetry and the field of technological crafting constitute fertile areas for reflection on the place, role, and transformative power of objects and materials on performances and imaginaries.
With this research project, we wish to question certain processes and conventions of puppetry, object theater, and, more generally, animated forms, in light of what the DIY technological assemblages designed, programmed, and invented by Thomas Sillard, sound artist, allow us to create in terms of agency, real or imagined, of objects on stage. By listening to the behavior of these objects, we will attempt to test the traditionally maintained relationships between humans and other presences (robotic agents, sound sculptures, technological devices, etc.) in the performance space.