Nora Gibson
norasgibson@gmail.com
Artist statement:
Gibson creates bespoke visual experiences that include programming audio-reactive projections for music concerts, choreographic experiences using movement sensors and visuals, and immersive interactive experiences as kinetic paintings and public art installations. Important to Gibson is the translation of one sensory experience to another so that we are given a multiplicity of ways to understand something, such as the timbre of an instrument as a moving geometric form, or the graceful movement of a dancer as a shift in color. Gibson creates these sensory translations to allow us to build on our perspective. Gibson's work is focused on highly aesthetic experiences, and her imagery, whether choreographically or digitally, incorporates beauty as a central characteristic. Gibson believes that beauty is a powerful force that facilitates connection to one's self and others.
Biography:
GIBSON IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF PHILLY AV, AN AUDIO VISUAL ARTIST COLLECTIVE THAT HAS PERFORMED AT THE ROTUNDA, VOX POPULI GALLERY, AND OTHER VENUES. THEIR FIRST YEAR OF FORMATION, THEY ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2019 PROJECT STREAM GRANT. Gibson trained at Baltimore School for the Arts, Chautauqua, and NCSA, and earned a BFA from Tisch, at NYU. In addition to performing in the genres of ballet and contemporary dance in MD, D.C., and NY, Gibson was selected to work from 2010-2013 with Lucinda Childs to perform various iconic 70s works as part of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage's Virtual Reconstruction project. Gibson has been invited as a resident artist in the US and abroad, including the nEW Festival in Philadelphia (2009-10), the CEC New Edge Residency (2009-10), the Ellen Forman Memorial Award (2011), the PHL/Poland Artist Exchange Residency (2012), the Choreographers on Campus Residency, funded through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (2014), Diepenheim Werkplaats (2016), Kaatsbaan (2017), and The Dance Visions Residency (2018). Gibson’s choreography has been presented by New Dance Alliance at Joyce SOHO, at Dance Place in Washington DC, Philadelphia Dance Projects, The Williams Center for the Arts, and by the Franklin Institute. Gibson’s work has received consistent critical acclaim, heralded by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "the most authoritative work in Philadelphia. . ." Gibson’s innovative approach to ballet garnered her an invitation to speak about her work for an audience of programmers and visual artists at MUTEK in Montreal in 2018. More recently, her digital work has been featured by ars electronica's online gallery and by contemporary & digital art fair in nyc (CADAF). Gibson's work has been commissioned regularly by universities such as Bryn Mawr College, Georgian Court University, Alma College, and University of the Arts. Gibson is also a devoted teacher, and has taught ballet, physical theater, and composition in the US and abroad, including Temple University, University of the Arts, the Zawirowania Festival, and many other institutions.
Selected Works & Info on Presenters/Awards/Residencies:
MERGE (2020) public exhibition by urban screens production, australia
MERGE (2020) Online performance presented by VJ Open Lab Berlin
NGV265 (2020) Immersive installation presented by Lightbox, NYC
Waterfall (2020) Audio-reactive installation, 500 Broadway, NYC, presented by Contemporary & Digital Art Fair (CADAF), Digital Art Month, NYC
Aria (2020) Kinetic Painting presented by Ars Electronica, Global Online Gallery
Selected Audio-Reactive Works (2020) Virtual Performance presented by NKB Presents: Creative Code Virtual Art Showcase, Feat. We Are Tundra & Intus
Audio-Reactive Vivaldi Concerto (2020) Vox Populi presents: Minute Fest, Virtual Performance
Glass No. 5 (2020) Audio-reactive visuals presented by Cherry Street Pier, commissioned by Bismuth Quartet (postponed indefinitely, COVID)
Untitled (2019-21) Interactive Visualsl/Dance co-presented by Vox Populi Gallery and Philly AV; to be presented at the Performance Garage Gala April 2020; to be presented by The Franklin Institute in 2021 (postponed)
Dances by Brainwaves (2020) Multimedia Interactive Installation for dance, brainwaves, visuals, and movement-reactive sound presented by The MAAS Building Residency
Mandala (2019) Digital Dance for Dome presented by Franklin Institute/ Philadelphia Science Festival/ Fels Planetarium. Made in collaboration with Jason Haggerty (AUS) with support by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Project Stream grant for multimedia work
Dark Energy (2019) Audio-Visual Performance presented by Fidget Space (2019) and The Rotunda (2019) made in collaboration with Dave Buschemeyer (music)
Mandala (2018) Guest speaker at the Touchdesigner Summit during MUTEK, Montreal about the making of Mandala
HUMAN (2018) Full-evening ballet premiering featuring original digital scenography, supported through the Dance Visions Residency award
Neural Lace (2017) Ballet Commissioned by University of the Arts
N o t h i n g T h a t I s N o t T h e r e (2017) Full evening ballet presented in partnership and support from The Franklin Institute and Drexel Department of Physics, Materials Lab; residency & workshop performance to be presented by Kaatsbaan, with support through the Kaatsbaan Upstream, Choreographic Residency
A Mind of Winter (2016) Ballet Commissioned by University of the Arts
Ephemeral (2016) Full-Evening ballet made with support from The Netherlands America Foundation and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Choreographic grant recipient
Dark White (Dance for Camera)(2015) Film presented by Triskellion Arts Dance Film Lab Festival
2^57,885,161 - 1 (2014-15) ½ evening ballet commissioned with support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Choreographers on Campus Initiative (Philadelphia premiere: February 2015; re-presented in 2016 by The Williams Ctr for the Arts)
Temporal Objects (2014) Quintet presented by Philadelphia Dance Projects
Simple Restrictions (2014) Quartet presented by Bryn Mawr College and the Come Together Festival
Divergent Iteration (2013-14) Duet commissioned by Bryn Mawr College
Antarctica Preview Choreographic Video (dance for opera) (2013) presented by Fidget Space
Trinity (2011) Trio performed at The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, funded in part by New Stages for Dance, and presented by Appel Arts, NJ, in 2013
Corollary to Fugue in G Minor (2013) Duet Presented by Koresh Dance Company and Performance Garage, developed through support by the Dance/USA Philadelphia Poland Artist Exchange, Residency
Fugue I Choreographic Dance for Camera (2012) Presented by Mascher Space, Philadelphia
Three Four Twelve (2012) Ensemble ballet commissioned & presented by Drexel University, Philadelphia, with support by the Ellen Foreman Memorial Award for choreography.
Vested Souls (2010) Full evening ballet Co-presented by Dance Place, Washington D.C. in 2012, and presented by the CEC in Philadelphia in 2010 through funding from Dance Advance, a program of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
Etude (2009) Ballet presented by the nEW Festival in Philadelphia in 2009, though support by the nEW Festival Residency, and by Joyce SOHO, in NYC in 2010.
Selected Teaching Experience
2013 - present Ballet instructor; Instructor for devised physical theater, Temple University
(*recipient of Outstanding Teaching award 2018)
2017 - present Ballet instructor at Philadelphia Studio Ballet
2018-2019 Ballet instructor, Georgian Court University
2019 Ballet mistress for Yun-Yang Lin/Dancers company of Philadelphia
2013 Ballet instructor, University of the Arts
2012 Composition workshop at the Zawirowania Festival, Warsaw, Poland
2009-11 seasonally, Ballet instructor at the nEW Festival, Philadelphia, PA
Selected Praise for Gibson’s work:
“...Stunning” “If there was any amount of polished performance in the room that evening, it was the opening ballet with interactive visuals and choreography by Nora Gibson.” (Leslie Bush, thINKingDance)
“HUMAN EXPLORES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TECHNOLOGY’S COMPLICATION OF OBJECTIVITY AND OTHERNESS. IT IS A POSTHUMAN DANCE THAT USES THE LANGUAGE OF CLASSICAL BALLET TO IMAGINE NEW VISTAS, DRAWING ON THE STRENGTHS OF ITS DANCERS, CHOREOGRAPHY, SCORE, AND STAGING. . . GIBSON’S CREATIVE STAGING SERVED HUMAN’S THEME OF THE TENSIONS BETWEEN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL, HUMAN AND ARTIFICIAL.” (MELISSA STRONG, BROAD STREET REVIEW)
A MASH-UP OF DATA-DRIVEN INQUIRY AND AESTHETIC EXPLORATION, N O T H I N G T H A T I S N O T T H E R E IS A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT IN THE GUISE OF A BALLET PERFORMANCE – AS WELL AS VICE VERSA. . . . THE ABSTRACT BEAUTY OF [THIS BALLET] MAKES IT A FITTING PIECE FOR A SCIENCE FESTIVAL. THE VIEWER MUST BE CURIOUS AND ALERT TO WHAT’S HAPPENING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME OPEN ABOUT ITS SENSE AND SIGNIFICANCE. IT’S A DANCE I’D LIKE TO SEE AGAIN IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE ITS UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES FURTHER. (JANE FRIES, THE DANCE JOURNAL)
"...Ephemeral, her smartest, most accomplished work to date. She is truly someone to watch, a choreographer who shows a new and strangely poetic direction, a dreamer, a philosopher, a seer." (Merilyn Jackson, critic for Philadelphia Inquirer, on FB)
"[T]he most authoritative work in Philadelphia this year." "spellbinding" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
norasgibson@gmail.com
Artist statement:
Gibson creates bespoke visual experiences that include programming audio-reactive projections for music concerts, choreographic experiences using movement sensors and visuals, and immersive interactive experiences as kinetic paintings and public art installations. Important to Gibson is the translation of one sensory experience to another so that we are given a multiplicity of ways to understand something, such as the timbre of an instrument as a moving geometric form, or the graceful movement of a dancer as a shift in color. Gibson creates these sensory translations to allow us to build on our perspective. Gibson's work is focused on highly aesthetic experiences, and her imagery, whether choreographically or digitally, incorporates beauty as a central characteristic. Gibson believes that beauty is a powerful force that facilitates connection to one's self and others.
Biography:
GIBSON IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF PHILLY AV, AN AUDIO VISUAL ARTIST COLLECTIVE THAT HAS PERFORMED AT THE ROTUNDA, VOX POPULI GALLERY, AND OTHER VENUES. THEIR FIRST YEAR OF FORMATION, THEY ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF THE 2019 PROJECT STREAM GRANT. Gibson trained at Baltimore School for the Arts, Chautauqua, and NCSA, and earned a BFA from Tisch, at NYU. In addition to performing in the genres of ballet and contemporary dance in MD, D.C., and NY, Gibson was selected to work from 2010-2013 with Lucinda Childs to perform various iconic 70s works as part of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage's Virtual Reconstruction project. Gibson has been invited as a resident artist in the US and abroad, including the nEW Festival in Philadelphia (2009-10), the CEC New Edge Residency (2009-10), the Ellen Forman Memorial Award (2011), the PHL/Poland Artist Exchange Residency (2012), the Choreographers on Campus Residency, funded through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (2014), Diepenheim Werkplaats (2016), Kaatsbaan (2017), and The Dance Visions Residency (2018). Gibson’s choreography has been presented by New Dance Alliance at Joyce SOHO, at Dance Place in Washington DC, Philadelphia Dance Projects, The Williams Center for the Arts, and by the Franklin Institute. Gibson’s work has received consistent critical acclaim, heralded by the Philadelphia Inquirer as "the most authoritative work in Philadelphia. . ." Gibson’s innovative approach to ballet garnered her an invitation to speak about her work for an audience of programmers and visual artists at MUTEK in Montreal in 2018. More recently, her digital work has been featured by ars electronica's online gallery and by contemporary & digital art fair in nyc (CADAF). Gibson's work has been commissioned regularly by universities such as Bryn Mawr College, Georgian Court University, Alma College, and University of the Arts. Gibson is also a devoted teacher, and has taught ballet, physical theater, and composition in the US and abroad, including Temple University, University of the Arts, the Zawirowania Festival, and many other institutions.
Selected Works & Info on Presenters/Awards/Residencies:
MERGE (2020) public exhibition by urban screens production, australia
MERGE (2020) Online performance presented by VJ Open Lab Berlin
NGV265 (2020) Immersive installation presented by Lightbox, NYC
Waterfall (2020) Audio-reactive installation, 500 Broadway, NYC, presented by Contemporary & Digital Art Fair (CADAF), Digital Art Month, NYC
Aria (2020) Kinetic Painting presented by Ars Electronica, Global Online Gallery
Selected Audio-Reactive Works (2020) Virtual Performance presented by NKB Presents: Creative Code Virtual Art Showcase, Feat. We Are Tundra & Intus
Audio-Reactive Vivaldi Concerto (2020) Vox Populi presents: Minute Fest, Virtual Performance
Glass No. 5 (2020) Audio-reactive visuals presented by Cherry Street Pier, commissioned by Bismuth Quartet (postponed indefinitely, COVID)
Untitled (2019-21) Interactive Visualsl/Dance co-presented by Vox Populi Gallery and Philly AV; to be presented at the Performance Garage Gala April 2020; to be presented by The Franklin Institute in 2021 (postponed)
Dances by Brainwaves (2020) Multimedia Interactive Installation for dance, brainwaves, visuals, and movement-reactive sound presented by The MAAS Building Residency
Mandala (2019) Digital Dance for Dome presented by Franklin Institute/ Philadelphia Science Festival/ Fels Planetarium. Made in collaboration with Jason Haggerty (AUS) with support by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund Project Stream grant for multimedia work
Dark Energy (2019) Audio-Visual Performance presented by Fidget Space (2019) and The Rotunda (2019) made in collaboration with Dave Buschemeyer (music)
Mandala (2018) Guest speaker at the Touchdesigner Summit during MUTEK, Montreal about the making of Mandala
HUMAN (2018) Full-evening ballet premiering featuring original digital scenography, supported through the Dance Visions Residency award
Neural Lace (2017) Ballet Commissioned by University of the Arts
N o t h i n g T h a t I s N o t T h e r e (2017) Full evening ballet presented in partnership and support from The Franklin Institute and Drexel Department of Physics, Materials Lab; residency & workshop performance to be presented by Kaatsbaan, with support through the Kaatsbaan Upstream, Choreographic Residency
A Mind of Winter (2016) Ballet Commissioned by University of the Arts
Ephemeral (2016) Full-Evening ballet made with support from The Netherlands America Foundation and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Choreographic grant recipient
Dark White (Dance for Camera)(2015) Film presented by Triskellion Arts Dance Film Lab Festival
2^57,885,161 - 1 (2014-15) ½ evening ballet commissioned with support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Choreographers on Campus Initiative (Philadelphia premiere: February 2015; re-presented in 2016 by The Williams Ctr for the Arts)
Temporal Objects (2014) Quintet presented by Philadelphia Dance Projects
Simple Restrictions (2014) Quartet presented by Bryn Mawr College and the Come Together Festival
Divergent Iteration (2013-14) Duet commissioned by Bryn Mawr College
Antarctica Preview Choreographic Video (dance for opera) (2013) presented by Fidget Space
Trinity (2011) Trio performed at The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, funded in part by New Stages for Dance, and presented by Appel Arts, NJ, in 2013
Corollary to Fugue in G Minor (2013) Duet Presented by Koresh Dance Company and Performance Garage, developed through support by the Dance/USA Philadelphia Poland Artist Exchange, Residency
Fugue I Choreographic Dance for Camera (2012) Presented by Mascher Space, Philadelphia
Three Four Twelve (2012) Ensemble ballet commissioned & presented by Drexel University, Philadelphia, with support by the Ellen Foreman Memorial Award for choreography.
Vested Souls (2010) Full evening ballet Co-presented by Dance Place, Washington D.C. in 2012, and presented by the CEC in Philadelphia in 2010 through funding from Dance Advance, a program of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage.
Etude (2009) Ballet presented by the nEW Festival in Philadelphia in 2009, though support by the nEW Festival Residency, and by Joyce SOHO, in NYC in 2010.
Selected Teaching Experience
2013 - present Ballet instructor; Instructor for devised physical theater, Temple University
(*recipient of Outstanding Teaching award 2018)
2017 - present Ballet instructor at Philadelphia Studio Ballet
2018-2019 Ballet instructor, Georgian Court University
2019 Ballet mistress for Yun-Yang Lin/Dancers company of Philadelphia
2013 Ballet instructor, University of the Arts
2012 Composition workshop at the Zawirowania Festival, Warsaw, Poland
2009-11 seasonally, Ballet instructor at the nEW Festival, Philadelphia, PA
Selected Praise for Gibson’s work:
“...Stunning” “If there was any amount of polished performance in the room that evening, it was the opening ballet with interactive visuals and choreography by Nora Gibson.” (Leslie Bush, thINKingDance)
“HUMAN EXPLORES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TECHNOLOGY’S COMPLICATION OF OBJECTIVITY AND OTHERNESS. IT IS A POSTHUMAN DANCE THAT USES THE LANGUAGE OF CLASSICAL BALLET TO IMAGINE NEW VISTAS, DRAWING ON THE STRENGTHS OF ITS DANCERS, CHOREOGRAPHY, SCORE, AND STAGING. . . GIBSON’S CREATIVE STAGING SERVED HUMAN’S THEME OF THE TENSIONS BETWEEN NATURAL AND UNNATURAL, HUMAN AND ARTIFICIAL.” (MELISSA STRONG, BROAD STREET REVIEW)
A MASH-UP OF DATA-DRIVEN INQUIRY AND AESTHETIC EXPLORATION, N O T H I N G T H A T I S N O T T H E R E IS A SCIENCE EXPERIMENT IN THE GUISE OF A BALLET PERFORMANCE – AS WELL AS VICE VERSA. . . . THE ABSTRACT BEAUTY OF [THIS BALLET] MAKES IT A FITTING PIECE FOR A SCIENCE FESTIVAL. THE VIEWER MUST BE CURIOUS AND ALERT TO WHAT’S HAPPENING, BUT AT THE SAME TIME OPEN ABOUT ITS SENSE AND SIGNIFICANCE. IT’S A DANCE I’D LIKE TO SEE AGAIN IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE ITS UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES FURTHER. (JANE FRIES, THE DANCE JOURNAL)
"...Ephemeral, her smartest, most accomplished work to date. She is truly someone to watch, a choreographer who shows a new and strangely poetic direction, a dreamer, a philosopher, a seer." (Merilyn Jackson, critic for Philadelphia Inquirer, on FB)
"[T]he most authoritative work in Philadelphia this year." "spellbinding" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)