Marlon Barrios Solano a Venezuelan-American multidisciplinary artist is partaking the artist-in-residence program in Radiona during September/October 2023 entitled Unfinished Configurations | Odd Kins within a Thick Present.
Project Description:
In this exploration, I aim to delve into the affordances of generative artificial intelligence in sculpting a performance installation, where improvisational dance becomes an intrinsic element. At its core, this project seeks to reconcile the tension formed at the intersection of multidimensional spaces: from language models and generative adversarial networks to the visceral, tangible essence of the human body. It’s a dance between the abstract realms of text and image, and the carnal tangibility of our flesh and bones.
Drawing inspiration from vast literary universes and infinite libraries (Borges), the project grapples with profound themes such as the impossibility of total understanding, the nature of intelligence, the ethereal state of disembodiment, and the dramatic interplay between life and mortality. The phenomenon of bioluminescence, serving as a symbol of light and darkness, punctuates these themes.
Central to this endeavor is Donna Haraway’s concept of the “Thick Present,” which emphasizes the dense interweaving of past, present, and future. It’s within this “Thick Present” that Haraway’s notion of “odd kin” finds resonance. By exploring our relationships not just with human kin but with non-human entities, technology, and the environment, the “odd kin” concept blurs boundaries and challenges our perceptions of connections in the contemporary era. The performance installation acknowledges these spectral influences, the ghostly echoes from varying timelines and kinships, as they shape our present existence.
The audience will be ushered into a world where technology, art, and philosophy intertwine. The space becomes a platform for thought, sensation, movement, and the spectral echoes of time.
BIO:
Marlon Barrios Solano is an international interdisciplinary artist and researcher with expertise in software engineering, generative AI, dance improvisation, and mindfulness. His varied portfolio encompasses AI-driven apps, digital therapeutics, web applications, interactive installations, and multimedia performances. A significant aspect of his contributions is the creation and curation of dance-tech.net, a social network for dancers and innovators, and the production of over 200 dance-techTV video interviews. His groundbreaking work with Sati-AI exemplifies the convergence of AI and mindfulness.
Marlon provides his proficiency to diverse sectors, assisting both individuals and organizations in maximizing the benefits of AI. He’s a resident researcher at Lake Studios Berlin and Wisdom Labs in San Francisco, and his research endeavors have spanned across, USA, South America, Germany, Amsterdam, Switzerland, and the UK.
Educationally, Marlon boasts an MFA from The Ohio State University and a completion certificate from the General Assembly Software Engineering Program in 2021. He’s a Kernel Fellow Block5 2022 and imparts Vipassana meditation knowledge to artists and tech professionals. He served as a research associate at the Inter-University of Dance/University of The Arts in Berlin between 2012-2016.
As a dancer in NYC, he collaborated with choreographers Lynn Shapiro, Merian Soto, Dean Moss and Susan Marshall and with musicians Philip Glass, John Zorn and Erik Friedlander. He has an MFA in Dance and Technology 2004 (new media, performance of improvisation and embodied cognition) from The Ohio State University, USA.
Marlon was a research associate at the Inter-University of Dance/University of The Arts (UDK/HZT) in Berlin (Germany) from 2013 to 2016. He was 1 2017 Hombroich Fellow (Germany). He was artist/researcher in residency at ICK Amsterdam 2013-14 and at the Gilles Jobin Company in Geneva (Switzerland) 2009-2012. He has taught and developed projects in the US, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South America.
Certified as a Vipassana/Mindfulness Meditation Teacher by the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Marlon resided at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA from 2016 to 2021. Under the tutelage of Stephen Batchelor, Marlon’s learning journey persists. As an Embodyoga® 200 Hour Certified Teacher, he has globally shared his expertise and spearheaded projects. Currently, he’s aligned as a fellow with the Mind and Life EUROPEAN SUMMER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ESRI) 2023.