The Making of "Noh as Intermedia"
Jarosław Kapuściński
Department of Music, Stanford University
Tuesday, 25 April 2023
2:30–3:00 pm
Abstract: The website "Noh as Intermedia" provides a comprehensive and analytical view of Noh theater, emphasizing its unique and sophisticated interweaving of visual, aural, and textual elements. This website uses a hypermedia format that enables users to interactively learn about Noh theater through access to video documentation of two full plays, annotated video clips, text, catalogs of formal, musical, and movement patterns, as well as specially designed interactive libretti, multimedia scores, and formal graphs.
Developed through a close collaboration between scholars, programmers, and performers, the project involved over 80 people from the United States and Japan. The presentation will discuss the motivations, design considerations, and collaborative process involved in creating a website of this complexity. The presentation is intended for anyone interested in the intersection of digital media and traditional performing arts, as well as scholarly publications about time-based media.
About the presenter: Jarosław Kapuściński is an Associate Professor at Stanford University, where he is affiliated with the Department of Music and the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. His research focuses on intermedia composition, performance, and Japanese traditional aesthetics. He often combines live piano performances with AI-enabled computers to create multimedia content.
Kapuściński has received grants and commissions from a range of international organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Governor General of Canada, and Institut National de l’Audiovisuel (INA) in France. His works have been awarded prizes at festivals in Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States, and have been presented at prestigious venues around the world, such as New York MOMA, Spoleto USA, EMPAC NY, Logan Center in Chicago, Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid, Media Biennale Wroclaw, Warsaw Autumn Festival, National Art Centre in Ottawa, Tokyo Wonder Site, Creative Media Center in Hong Kong, and Benz Arena Shanghai.
In addition to his artistic work, Kapuściński has collaborated on scholarly websites about Japanese Gagaku music and Noh theater.