Celebrated Taiwanese dancer and choreographer Huang Yi questions humanity’s relationship with technology in this uniquely East Asian performance
Taipei, Friday, November 14, 2014 - ASIATODAY.COM - Audience members at the Golden Pin Design Award 2014 Award Ceremony will have the rare chance to experience celebrated Taiwanese dancer and choreographer Huang Yi’s critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning performance, Huang Yi & KUKA. The 20 minute version of Huang Yi & KUKA- 1st & 2nd Movements being performed at the Golden Pin Design Award 2014 Award Ceremony is the first phase (or first 2 movements) of the work. The entire piece will be completed in January 2015.
A project that could only have come out of East Asia where technology and a dedication to digital arts is ubiquitous, Huang Yi & KUKA- 1st & 2nd Movements is the fulfillment of a long-standing dream for Huang Yi. As a child, the artist yearned to be friends with Doraemon, the robotic cat from the Japanese manga series of the same name. After lengthy discussions with the KUKA Robot Group, Huang Yi obtained one of the company’s industrial robotic arms on loan. “The streamlined design of KUKA is similar to the muscular structure of the human body whereas the shape of other kinds of robots is more restrictive,” he says of his decision to choose this type of robot. It took him two years of pre-production and six months of rehearsal time to perfect the cross-disciplinary performance, which combines groundbreaking choreography and stage and lighting effects with classical music and experimental computer programming.
Huang Yi was invited to perform Huang Yi & KUKA- 1st & 2nd Movements at the Golden Pin Design Award 2014 Award Ceremony by JL Design, the pioneering Taiwanese motion graphics studio that is responsible for the direction of this year’s event. The company is led by Founder and Creative Director, Johnason Lo.
“Whenever I receive an invitation to perform, I try to understand the concepts behind the event before accepting. Johnason and I are both perfectionists, and we are both devoted to creating productions that break down traditional frameworks to give them a new definition. When Johnason told me that he wants this what could be a very typical ceremony to instead provide the audience with new information, I instantly felt that we could work together to achieve this goal,” Huang Yi says. “That I am able to perform at a design award ceremony actually means a lot to me. During high school, I depended a lot on my graphic design skills to help my family through a difficult financial period. I am very grateful to the design field for helping me through difficult periods in my life.”
“This is the first time an artist has been asked to perform at the Golden Pin Design Award ceremony, says Johnason Lo, Founder and Creative Director of JL Design. “Huang Yi, called enfant terrible by Cloud Gate Theatre founder Lin Hwai-min, was the first Taiwanese artist to perform in Ars Electronica Festival in Austria. A truly cross-disciplinary performance, Huang Yi & KUKA- 1st & 2nd Movements echoes Taiwan’s prowess in the high tech industry. Not only is Huang Yi a superbly talented young dancer who is an expert at expressing complex social concepts with his body, but he is also a self-taught computer programmer who is able to use his skills to perform with a robotic arm in a virtual space. The unique performance develops a dialogue between human and robot and gives audiences a rare chance to explore philosophical questions of loneliness and the depth of the soul.”
Huang Yi & KUKA- 1st & 2nd Movements comes to Taipei after gracing the stages of numerous festivals and event spaces in Asia and Europe including opening for the 2013 Ars Electronica Festival, one of the world’s leading electronic arts events, in 2013. Huang Yi, who is a graduate of Taiwan National University of Arts, the country’s leading arts college, has received a multitude of local and international awards for his work including 1st Prize in the 2012 and 2010 Digital Performance Award, Taipei Digital Art Festival (Taiwan); and 2nd Prize in the 2010 Cross Connection Ballet International Choreography Competition (Denmark). In 2010, he was shortlisted for Taishin Arts Award (Taiwan) and was a recipient of the LO Man-fei Dance Scholarship (Taiwan). In 2011, he was named among Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch”.
About the Golden Pin Design Award 2014
This year, for the first time in its 33 year history, the Golden Pin Design Award opened its doors to companies designing products and projects in and for the huaren (Chinese-speaking) market. In June 2014, a record number of entries were received from across the world in four award categories: Product Design, Visual Communication Design, Packaging Design, and Interior Design. Golden Pin Design Award 2014 Best Design trophy recipients were selected in Taipei, Taiwan on October 8, 2014 by an expert international jury that included design industry luminaries such as Dr. Brandon Gien (Australia), Naoto Fukasawa (Japan), Tommy Li (Hong Kong), and Prof. Cai Jun (China). The Best Design trophy recipients, who were selected from over 400 finalists, will be announced in an award ceremony held in Taipei, Taiwan on December 11, 2014 (6pm-7.30pm).
Other important related events include the Golden Pin Design Award Exhibition, a free, open-to-the-public display of this year’s Golden Pin Design Award winning products. The exhibition, which offers members of the public a unique opportunity to experience some of the world’s most innovative huaren designs first hand, will be held at the Taiwan Design Museum in Taipei’s Songshan Creative and Cultural Park from December 11-31, 2014. For more information, visit the Golden Pin Design Award website ( http://www.goldenpin.org.tw/en/) and the official Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/GoldenPinDesign).
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