In the past few years, access to motion capture data, 3D base models, and software to “make an animation of yourself” has skyrocketed. From MakeHuman to Mixamo to CMU’s motion capture database, the ability to make and finish polished projects has become easier for many. While these resources are extremely helpful to create a range of projects, they lack tools to create diverse characters and movements unexplored by systems that center assumptions of neutrality.

BML is a library for activists, performers & artists to create diverse XR projects, a space to research how and why we move, and an archive of Black existence. BML seeks to grow community through the use of performances, xr experiences, workshops, conversations and tool making.

On Wednesday and Thursday June 23rd and 24th, join us for a large-scale public outdoor performance organized by new media artist, creative technologist, and educator LaJuné McMillian, hosted by Brooklyn Public Library on Grand Army Plaza. The performance, which is the culmination of a digital workshop series organized by A Blade of Grass as part of our ongoing Curriculum for the Future initiative, will showcase work and research from McMillian’s ongoing project Black Movement Library and is curated by independent curator Yvonne Mpwo.

Taking the form of multiple short acts, the evening will feature both live and prerecorded “Movement Portraits,” or 2D video representations of peoples’ movements created using perception neuron motion-capture suits. Artists Roobi Gaskins, Renaldo Maurice, Ntu, Roukijah Rooks, and RaFia Santana will create their “Movement Portraits” live in front of the audience, dancing on the plaza in front of the Library and sending their movement data to be translated into projected visuals in real-time. The evening will also include pre-recorded videos of “Movement Portraits” created by participants in the workshop series earlier this year. During the intermission, the audience will have the opportunity to participate in the creation and archiving of movements collaboratively through sharing their own movements to be projected.

Organizing Artist:

LaJuné McMillian

Performers:

Roobi Gaskins

Ntu

Renaldo Maurice

Roukijah Rooks

RaFia Santana

Music:

Ntu

Film:

Manuel Molina Martagon

Stage Manager:

Randi Rivera

Technologist

Indira Ardolic

Curated By:

Yvonne Mpwo

This work was created and captured, in part, in the Movement Lab of Barnard College and supported by the Lab’s team.