Proposal Abstract

Why cross media?

Presented by the collaborating team Deborah and Richard Cornell, this illustrated talk considers the shaping, mystique and rationale that entice artists to cross disciplines and meld otherwise well-defined boundaries into new expressions of medium and expectation. Elements of print that are uniquely suited to creating hybrid forms include: layering of information to construct an intricate transformation; the time interval that exists in creating the matrix and seeing its expression; casting information from one material to another, and the extension of an idea through differing media.

This talk will track the 12-year trajectory of the collaborations of Deborah and Richard Cornell (in print, VR animation, video, and sound), and how conversations and observations from our distinct disciplines connect to intensifying an experience. Just as attributes of print sustain experiment, the history of music also has comparable elements. Collaborations in other forms (theatre, dance and cinema) confirm its capacity to extend experience and to engage space and time. Technology allows sound to become plastic and to be modelled in space. Similar capabilities in the visual sphere allow synergies of form and space. We will present related cross-media manifestations resonating with these expressive issues. Works of Jennifer Steinkamp, William Kentridge, Xu Bing, and Patricia Villalobos Echeverria will be considered, as they mine elements of print methodology to create new forms.

Deborah and Richard Cornell are on the faculty of Boston University College of Fine Arts. Their collaborations are presented worldwide, including at New York Town Hall, Krakow Print Triennial, Taiwan Normal University, Kala Institute, Proyecto ACE Buenos Aires, and Zayed University/Dubai. Deborah Cornell’s awards include the Grand Prix, Krakow Triennial and a Bunting Fellowship, Harvard. Richard Cornell awards include the NEA and the Fromm Foundation, commissions from Boston Musica Viva and the Muir Quartet.