SHARDS

Selection excerpt

Information

Shards is an audiovisual performance of Philip Glass’ first book of Études for Piano. The recital incorporates ten pieces of music accompanied by animation both performed live on stage. The moving images projected on a circular screen, act as the sole illumination source of the concert hall. Shards is a vibrant conversation between the two performers who become visible through the light of the animation.

In the past, composers often created new instruments for the music they imagined. Similarly, the visuals are generated using custom software specifically designed for the performance. The progression of the animation is based on the structural analysis of the songs. Instead of a fully automated visual system, emphasis was given to responsive interactions and expressive gestures through the use of an input controller. The visual performer transduces the musical performance into a dynamically evolving visual piece.

A unique composer – a unique musical work: Glass’ Etudes for Piano, Book I is a kaleidoscopic collection of pieces: ten self-contained compositions, evoking ten different feelings, using diverse structural schemes. Glass’ powerful dramatic drive, his lyricism and his minimalist repetitions create a sense of controlling the flow of time.

These elements turn Glass’ music into the perfect canvas for visualizing sentiments, and unleashing their storytelling potential. Just as the Études were composed to explore a variety of tempi, textures, and piano techniques, equally the visuals are designed as a series of studies exploring forms, color palettes and dynamically generated motions. Εvolving from, and emphasizing the characteristic structure of each composition, the animation aspire to further enhance the unique emotions of each individual Étude.

Credits

A Phormigx and EmptyFilm co-production

Piano: Nikolaos Laaris
Animation & Live Visuals: Georgios Cherouvim
Director & Producer: Dimitris Delinikolas
Art Director: Giorgos Georgiou

Contact

For more information get in touch:
contact@shards-performance.art

Étude Νο. 6

Videography: Demitris Delinikolas, SNFCC
Edit: Panagiotis Delinikolas

Contributors

Nikos Laaris

Singled out by Stephen Pettit of the Times as “a fine artist, incapable of making an ugly sound”, Nikos studied piano at the Royal College of Music, London, conducting at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam, and received his doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, where he served as a professor.

Ηe has performed in Europe (South Bank Centre – London, Gärtnerplatztheater – Munich), and the US (Carnegie Hall – New York). For his collaboration with the Ballet Theater München in Philip Taylor’s, Goldberg Variationen, he was hailed by Dance Europe magazine as “the star of the evening”.

He has conducted operas and musicals such as Philip Glass’ In the Penal Colony, Bernstein’s West Side Story, Andrew Lloyd-Weber’s The Phantom of the Opera. His future plans include the Greek premiere of Moises Kaufman theatrical play 33 Variations, based on Beethoven’s “Diabelli Variations”.

Georgios Cherouvim

He graduated with a distinction and an award from the National Center for Computer animation in the United Kingdom. Since 2005 he has worked on the visual effects of several feature films, commercials and virtual reality experiences , as well as music videos and art projects. He is currently based in New York where he is also teaching a computer animation class at the School of Visual Arts.

His personal work and animation shorts have been screened in festivals around the world including Ars Electronica, Siggraph, Art Futura, One Dot Zero and Athens Digital Art Festival.

He has been invited to present his work and give guest lectures at the Institute of Architecture and Media of Graz University in Austria, the NCCA of the United Kingdom, Digitized design conference in Athens and DevHour games conference in Mexico city. He recently gave a TEDx talk at the Ionian university about creative coding and digital tools.
ch3.gr

Demitri Delinikolas

Demitri Delinikolas is a film director and new media artist based in Athens. He enjoys experimenting in the conjunction of new media, art and philosophy. His PhD in the University of Athens is on collaborative creation and production, trans-media storytelling, XR and blockchain supported collective IP management. He has worked more than 15 years as a commercials director, short and documentary filmmaker. He has founded the collective emptyfilm.com

Giorgos Georgiou

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, I have studied my craft at the Stavrakos Film School, where I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Scenography & Costume Design.

Since 1987, I have had the privilege of working with most of the distinguished professionals of the arts and film industry within Greece and worldwide as a production/set and costume designer for film, television and theatre.

Throughout the years, I have cooperated as a creative art director, in more than 1000 commercial TV spots and events, with all major production companies in Greece (Movielab, Stefi, Le Spot, Cinegram, Sentral, Modiano, TNT, Kino, X-rated, Publica, Top Cut, Max, FOS, Stars).

Also as a creative art director I have worked on numerous events, exhibitions, interiors and installation designs. For example, from 2003 until 2005, I designed all Christmas Festivities for the Municipality of Athens, which became very successful projects and became a source of pride for me to have created a wonderful holiday experience for millions of people to enjoy during the winter months was something I will look back on fondly.
giorgosgeorgiou.gr

Phormigx

Phormigx is a classical music production company, active worldwide since 1992 and organized more than one thousand symphonic concerts, opera productions, ballet performances, chamber music concerts and recitals, in all five continents.
We have worked with leading orchestras, ensembles and artists, in venues like Berliner Philharmonie, Wiener Musikverein and of course Herodus Atticus Theatre and Athens Concert Hall.

Recording projects had been released for companies like RCA, Naxos and Naïve. Phormigx inaugurated and organizes the Nafplion Festival for twenty five years now as well as Music in Rhodes Festival for seventeen.
phormigx.gr

EmptyFilm

Emptyfilm is a collective for new media, films, animation, extended reality, blockchain, Web3 and innovative ways of collaboration. A production entity that specializes in tailor made creative ensembles.
emptyfilm.com