My interview to Dandy Punk, a “digital light poet”511
A dandypunk exists to inspire and motivate creativity, non-conformity, whimsy, intense curiosity, do-it-yourself mentality and everyday eccentricity in everybody. The new weird.
www.adandypunk.com – website
Anna Monteverdi: Can you describe your poetic performances which unite tecnology, fairy tale, drawing, lightness, dream and cirque? From which language are you used to start your project and have you direct part in The choice of specific technology or software ?
Dundy Punk I really just want to bring my illustrations to life and interact with the worlds and characters of my imagination. The projector is the perfect tool, since it enables a simple sketch, done on a piece of scrap paper, to become 20′ tall and completely surround the audience. I really wanted to make things which people haven’t seen before. So much projection mapping uses the same polygon wire frames and grids, I wanted to draw everything by hand to create the feel of an illustrated children’s book. I don’t want the computer to be visible in my work. It must feel magical and alive.
Dandy Punk: I think you must use technology to serve the story and beauty of the performance and not let it be the main focus or a way of “showing off” how big the budget is. It should be used sparingly and delicately.
Anna Monteverdi.: Do you consider yourself a performer, a magicien, a techno artist, an artist in The age of ‘Software culture’ ?
Dandy Punk I’m really not that interested in technology; emotion and storytelling are what really matters. I have been described as a “digital light poet” and I quite like that I suppose! Art is the same as real magic to me, I see no difference.
Anna Monteverdi: How Much the experience with the Cirque du soleil has influenced your work and do you think their special esthetique and the presence of wonderful machines in their show (like in KA) has renowed the international stage?
Dandy Punk: Working with Cirque du Soleil has been wonderful and inspiring, they are extremely creative and can pretty much make whatever you dream of become a reality. My aesthetic is quite different from the classic “Cirque” style, but I am slowly trying to inject it in there! I hope to be a key player in bringing the company to the next generation of inspired fans.
Anna Monteverdi Do you know ant digital choreographies by Adrien Mondot e Claire Bardainne like Cinematique? They seem very similar to you work in the idea of light interaction with the stage design and in the idea of choreography based expressely to the live projection mapping…
Dandy Punk I have seen their work, they are by far the leaders in this field and their work is always stunning. I see many people copying what they pioneered and I have tried to go in a completely different direction. Iv’e been asked by producers before to “do something like them” and I immediately refused! I think we are both pushing boundaries but in different directions.