ALGORYTHMIC
Team Members: Alicia Renee Ball, Onur Topal-Sümer, Rich Johnson, Andrew English
Year: 2021 . This project was created as part of an international artist residency program: IMMENSIVA. IMMENSIVA is an international platform for artists and creatives working with advanced technologies as VR, AR, AI, sensors and many others. ALGORYTHMIC is an immersive performance installation that explores collective behavior patterns through murmurations, swarms and flocking among organisms both human and non-human. Utilizing VR, reactive sound and synesthetic-kinesthetic design, this work attempts to illustrate omni species’ collective situational and spatial conditions via particle simulations and immersive movement interactions. Similar to a flock of birds or a school of fish, crowds of humans do not differ much when encountering a perceived predator or the “Other”, showing similar avoidance movement patterns and reactions. As our society continues its transition to spending more time, resources and interactions in the digital space, which of our collective behaviors will we maintain? Which of our behaviors will we be able to break and which new patterns will we form? There is no doubt we will continue to face new challenges as we collectively navigate digital spaces today, yet there are more opportunities than ever for an improved collective consciousness as we continue to globalize and share information. How can our new technologies shape our evolution and advance a sustainable, healthy collective digital society, as each individual user interaction inevitably shapes the whole? The diverse and multidisciplinary life experiences of the ALGORYTHMIC project team artists has given us each a unique perspective on these phenomena and the journey of migration in the 21st century. As artists, we were and still are “wanderers'', and in many cases this professional mobility is neither voluntarily nor casually chosen as a working basis. Market laws, globalization and/or societal mechanisms of oppression, censorship and violence are often the reasons for artists to leave their place of origin and seek the stylistic expanses of the world. Artists travel, migrate or wander in between mental, physical and/or emotional dimensions in physical vs. alternate realities. Movement is the ideal medium to interrogate the issues around migration, not in any abstract way but because it is universal and essential. Everybody and every organism moves in their own unique way, so it is easier to empathize with the physical sensations of migration or swarming. We are fascinated by examining the connections between what individuals do and what kind of action-reaction emerges at the group level. Through our team’s variety of professional backgrounds and lenses of design, movement and audiovisual aesthetics, we hope to create an honest, yet hopeful immersive experience for a global contemporary audience. BA(VUL)Connects multiple wor(l)ds: “bavul” (Turkish) and “baul” (Russian) words for “suitcase”, “travel bag” that are interconnected at the other side of the ocean, physically, virtually and emotionally.
A body/movement exhibition about Home and Luggage that we are bringing with us, physically and emotionally, while migrating from point A to point B (and coming back from B to A). Mediums: dance, physical theatre, installation, visual art, video projections, special scents & sounds infused to the audience during the performance to play with their sensory. The performers interact with the audience physically. This work was created for Mediums Collective in collaboration with Nadya Zeitlin, Bautanzt Here. September, 2019 Atlanta, GA RESIST
A SITE SPECIFIC DANCE / BODY / MOVEMENT / OBJECT INSTALLATION PROJECT August 29, 2014 - 7pm Gallery 72: 72 Marietta St Atlanta, GA 30303 Concept, movement design, artistic direction & object installation by Onur Topal-Sümer Performers and collaborators: Thomas Bell, Juana Farfan, Nicole Kedaroe, Joy Peace, Stephanie Pharr, Jacqueline Woo. Photograhy: John E. Ramspott RESIST is inspired by the Gezi Park civil rights protests took place in Türkiye/Turkey in 2013. On May 27, 2013 bulldozers drove into Gezi, a central park in Taksim, İstanbul, to uproot five trees in preparation for future construction. Within a couple of hours, a group of 20-30people came to the park to stop the work, and decided to sit-in to keep guard. The small scale sit-in at the site marked the beginning of a significant social movement, hit her to known as the Gezi movement. Within a few days, as the number of occupants who pitched tents at the park increased to hundreds, the local protest turned into a nationwide movement with global repercussions. It was agreed by the protestors to be a nonviolent and peaceful protest. The character of the protests changed quite substantially when the Turkish police attacked protesters with considerable violence with extreme amount of tear gas and water cannons and what started as an environmental protest to save 600 trees in Gezi Park quickly turned into a nation-wide political demonstration. On several levels, the young movement has become a form of artistic protest. A large number of citizens, who lost their eyes, were injured as a result of water cannons and close-range shots from tear gas canisters and plastic bullets aimed directly at them. At least 11 people were killed by the police brutality and more than 8,000 were injured, many critically. A protestor said: “Gas masks are the best things to have, but swimming goggles can also save the day. During Gezi, we improved our technology here at a scale that even saw plastic bottles turned into gas masks. Lemon for tear gas stands as a powerful tool for remembering the effects of the tear gas police used during the protests and also as a symbol of solidarity among the protesters. So, be creative and protect yourself.” “Diren” (Resist) is the umbrella brand of civil disobedience campaigns. #direngezipark This project is presented by the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art, in partnership with WonderRoot and the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs as a result of being a Walthall Artist Fellowship recipient. |
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TAIL MAIL
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LIVE FROM ISTANBULThis multi-media experience project called “Live From Istanbul” was created in collaboration with EYEDRUM and commissioned by ELEVATE Arts Festival, Atlanta.
In 2014 I had an opportunity to go home to Istanbul-Turkey and at the same time I was supposed to create and perform a live choreographic work in Atlanta. Then I realized because of current technology offerings I could do both. Working with a team in Atlanta and contemporary dancers in Turkey, we created something new for that moment.. Live-streaming from Istanbul projected the live-streaming images of dancers there onto various dancers and other surfaces in Atlanta during ELEVATE, creating an emotional connection between both cities. Art and technology brought these two cultures together. Audience were able to be part of the experience simultaneously in both cities at the same time from different perspectives. “Live From Istanbul” at the ELEVATE block party in Fairlie-Poplar district of downtown Atlanta on Friday, October 17, 2014 at 8 PM and in Ortakoy, Istanbul between 2:00-4:30 AM. |
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I AM NOT AN ARTIST
A collaborative work of poetry, photography and dance: "A Language of Grief" - "Relief" Alex Gallo-Brown-Poetry Book
Eleven poems side by side with the artwork they inspired. Featuring visual work from artists Antonio Darden, Aubrey Longley-Cook, Christopher Chambers, Heather Greenway, Iman Person, Jessica Caldas, Johnathan Welsh, Julie Sims, Nathan Sharratt, and Onur Topal-Sumer. Alex Gallo-Brown: Relief (alexgallobrown.com) "RITE OF SPRING"An original short dance film was created as part of a big international collage for the 100th year celebration of Rite Of Spring. It was premiered at Burgundy Video Dance Festival in France in April 2013. Click here to watch the trailer.
Created . Directed . Edited by Onur Topal-Sumer Performed by Shawn Evangelista Photography by Onur Topal-Sumer RITE OF SPRING from Onur Topal-Sumer on Vimeo. |
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hymHouse hymHouse, an exhibition, is a collaboration of female and female-identified artists curated by Stephanie Pharr, Onur Topal-Sumer, and Martha Whittington to pay homage to Judy Chicago’s Woman House. hymHouse explores and elaborates on the changing social and domestic roles, experiences, attitudes and attributes surrounding women in the twenty-first century. This project moves beyond the feminist view and includes female-identification as a new dimension.
Themes include female competition and moving toward female bonding; communication as healing; positively progressing through a male-dominated world; protest art as humor and activism; asking for worth; body image and female perspective as both an insider and outsider point of view; and making honest statements and critiques about contemporary womanhood. Concepts include dance performances, physical theater, installation, video projection, and inviting the community to contribute interactively. 2014 Atlanta, GA. A project supported and funded by Flux Project. "RED LIGHT"“Red Light” is an experimental dance film created for "Dances Made to Order" April 2012 edition. It is an exploration of an unconscious (subconscious) daydreaming through the language of movement and camera, while “waiting” to proceed a random daily activity by linking the self content and the environmental facts around us.
Choreographer, videographer, editor and sound designer: Onur Topal-Sumer Dancers: Julie Holcomb, Samir Jusupovic, Vincent Robinson Photographer: Karley Sullivan *Dances Made to Order April 2012 edition was curated by Atlanta Dance Truck, Malina Rodriguez. |
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OUR BETTER SELVES"Our Better Selves ?” A multimedia video dance installation work collaboratively created by Jennifer Tarrazi-Scully and Onur Topal-Sumer. The work explores the dysfunctional ideas of what it is like to be a woman today with themes that cross cultural, age boundaries, society based dictations and invisible "scars".
Performers & video installation: Jennifer Tarrazi-Scully, Eleanor Brownfield, Onur Topal-Sumer and Hazel (…) as in the ultrasound image. Click here to watch an excerpt section from the video installation. Technician: Michael Fletcher Atlanta,GA 2014 Gallery: Eyedrum Music&Arts and CORE Dance Studios. "ETHOS / PATHOS / LOGOS"Choreography: Onur Topal-Sumer
Music: Jon Cilliberto Lighting: Diane Lassila Dancers: Marshall Hamilton, Julie Holcomb, Samir Jusupovic, Laurel Lawson, Takiyah B. Sermons, Onur Topal-Sumer Company: Full Radius Dance - Atlanta, GA Photography: M. Ryan Nabulsi Premiered in Atlanta, GA January 2012 |
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OCCUPIEDOccupied offers audiences a glimpse at unexpected activities, environments and opportunities present in seemingly vacant spaces. This site-specific performance challenges the viewer’s ideas and convictions about perspective, proportion, value and our tendency to discard or alter places and things that have outlived their intended use.
Occupied was presented the unfinished lower level space at Castleberry Point in the Castleberry Hill Arts District of Atlanta for Flux Night 2011. Choreography by Melanie Lynch Blanchard and Onur Topal Sumer with Crossover Movement Arts. Music by Emrah Kotan. Film by Felipe Barral, The G Channel. Photography by Leah Roth and John Ramspott. Production design by Alan Reese. |
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"CLICK""Click" is a collaborative site-specific project created and choreographed by Onur Topal-Sumer & Melanie Lynch-Blanchard / Zoetic Dance Ensemble. Projects curated by Flux Projects. Atlanta,GA / USA.
CLICK is a multi-media contemporary dance work that explores iconic moments in the lives of women and our incredible abilities to adapt to the various phases of our lives with the love, support and camaraderie of other women. CLICK features personal stories told through film and movement to highlight these phases: finding love, commitment, work, family, birth, death, and all the related challenges, triumphs and experiences. These experiences often become defining moments that inform our future, shape our present, determine our relationships and have a lasting impact on our lives. CLICK was presented in 2010 for Flux Night, and as part of educational residencies at the University of Georgia (2011) and Brenau University (2010). Video Installation: Onur Topal-Sumer Filmography: Ross Brandt and Onur Topal Sumer. Photography: Leah Roth |
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"THE LAST ONE"Choreography & Costume: Onur Topal-Sumer
Dancers: Jojo Butler, Sarah Kelly Kerr, Karin Korb, Masha Malikina, Laurel Lawson, Vincent Robinson, Onur Topal-Sumer Lighting: Diane Lassila Company: Full Radius Dance Photography: Ann Lang and Sarper Sumer Premiered in Atlanta, GA-USA 2009 |
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"EUKARYOTE"Choreography: Onur Topal-Sumer
Dancers: Jojo Butler, MaryJane Pennington Photography: Sarper Sumer Premiered in Decatur Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA-USA 2009 |
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"WHISPERING MEDUSA"Choreography / Video Installation / Costumes: Onur Topal-Sumer
Music: Tolga Unaldi Lighting Designer: Marc Sicignano Mentors: Alan Terricciano, Loretta Livingston, John Crawford and Donald McKayle Premiered in University of California, Irvine - May 2006 |
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öötööAn intermedia dance and video telepresence performance staged simultaneously in Northern and Southern California.
The Active Space intermedia performance system connected live dance performed at two sites: the concert stage at UC Santa Cruz and the eMedia Studio at UC Irvine. öötöö (pronounced “ooh-too”) observed the life of the dreamer, investigating ways in which fragments from our day can get reassembled during sleep, sometimes in strange and unpredictable ways. This piece featured a cast of eighteen student dancers on stage at University of California, Santa Cruz, interacting with seven dancers at University of California, Irvine using the Active Space system over a high-performance network. Performance from Ootoo (2006), an interactive telepresence dance/media concert using the Active Space intermedia performance system. Staged simultaneously in Northern and Southern California. Interaction, media and projection design by John Crawford. Choreography by Lisa Naugle and Edward Warburton. Music by Martin Gotfrit. Onur Topal-Sumer: Production Assistant and & Interactive Performer. Running time 15:32. Production Year: 2006 University of California, Irvine "UTOPIA"Choreography / Video Installation: Onur Topal-Sumer
Music: Tolga Unaldi Dancers: Sally Cho, Joshua Marin-Hepfl, Mark Nunez, Jenny May Peterson, Danielle Ricci, Premiered in University of California, Irvine 2005 https://previous.embodied.net/project/ootoo/video/
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"PATH"Choreography & Performance: Onur Topal-Sumer
Photography: BobbiJo Brooks A site-specific performance at Dance Truck Event Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center GA-USA 2011 |
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THE BENDS
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"The Bends" / "Vurgun" An experimental looping video installation. Duration: 07'15'' Director, Videographer, Editor: Onur Topal-Sumer 2011 Atlanta, GA in collaboration with Zoetic Dance Ensemble |
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WHISPERING MEDUSA
A video installation and choreographic work by Onur Topal-Sumer
2006, Irvine, CA
Produced and supported by University of California Irvine
2006, Irvine, CA
Produced and supported by University of California Irvine
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