STATIC MOTION: AN EXPLORATION OF STILT DANCE POSTURES IN MIXED MEDIA SCULPTURE

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Department of Environmental Design

ABSTRACT
This study was inspired by the Angere stilt dance postures in creating sculptures. Stilt dance is known as Angere in the Yoruba speaking states in Nigeria. The problem of the study was the exploration of the stilt dance postures in mixed media sculpture. The study is significant as the Angere is losing touch of its traditional socio-cultural attributes to acculturation, hence, the need for the study. Five objectives were stipulated in this research which are not limited to the following, to visually document the stilt dance form for appraisal, develop the aesthetics of the stilt dance forms using mixed media in sculpture and explore ?static motion? derived from the posture of the Angere stilt dancer to achieve possibilities of the sculptures using the stilt dance forms. The theoretical framework was situated on Langer‘s aesthetic theory- Virtual Powers. The theory pursues the deeper understanding of what dancing is, what it expresses. According to Langer ?a dance gesture is not gesticulation; gesture in art is something imagined apart from the situation or mentality in which it was first rooted. (Langer in Innis, 2009). Therefore, dance is articulated in this exploration as an imaginary symbol of postural possibilities in creating firstly, sketches conceived from the observation of the stilt dance, which are then executed in mixed media. Thirteen artists are reviewed that explored dance as thematic expressions in sculpture. These artists include the following, Olu Amoda, Eze Ngene, Adeola Balogun, Penny Hardy, Jerry Daniel, Edger Degas and Fredinand Cecnio. Multiple qualitative methodologies were employed, namely observational, action research and studio exploration. Meanwhile, the studio exploration adopts Sullivan‘s framework which premised on ideas/interrogation, sketches/ drawings, exploration/visual practice: catalogue, exhibition and dissertation. The analysis of the studio works combined numerous approaches: formalist criticism, philosophical perception and conceptual analysis among others. Thirty sculptures were executed relating to the five objectives proffered, while, the artist‘s curatorial statement positioned the stilt dance postures within the concept of ?static motion‘. This is implied when visual illusion is created in the viewer; as if the still sculpture is falling as positioned on the base or without a lower supporting element but upper support like in puppetry. The findings of this study point to the possibility of visually documenting the stilt dance forms through the sketches, drawings, photography and all the sculptures generated in the studio exploration. The study has been able to develop the aesthetics of the stilt dance forms using paper, ropes and fabric off-cuts. Works in this series are Elegance I-III and Cultural Performance I-VI, and also visual motion has been created in the still sculptures through the adequate positioning of the element of art. Free-Flow I and II captured this essence. In conclusion, as a contribution to this study a visual concept of visual motion has been hatched in this study that is conceptualized as ?static motion‘. This is implied when a still sculpture is positioned in an angle as though it is falling, yet held with a fish line at the upper part of the sculpture or mounted on a base.