Live Dance Performance Investigating the Feminine Cyborg Metaphor with a Motion-activated Wearable Robot

Babyface: Performance and Installation Art Exploring the Feminine Ideal in Gendered Machines

“…Robots have been leveraged in performance both by artists, extending their onstage material, and by researchers, working to extend and test the capacities of algorithms and hardware in a performative setting, often blurring the line between both. The work presented in this paper extends one such performance discussed in Ladenheim et al, (2020) .…”

“…Thus, this paper presents Babyface , a performance art installation shown in Wellington, NZ at the 2020 Performance Arcade. The work extends previous performances, described in Ladenheim et al, (2020) , with two breath-triggered machines: one, a pair of wearable wings for the performers and controlled through their bodies, and another, a wall-mounted kinetic sculpture that participants could control through their bodies. This paper will describe the installation work and provide commentary on the unique creative challenges posed by the goals of Babyface , which includes machine movement to 1) bring topics of technology, control, and limitation to the stage in a physical manner and 2) offer audience members the feeling of unexpected intimacy with technology.…”

“…Prior work, Ladenheim et al, (2020) , presents the creation of this stereotypically feminine cyborg character through artistic and robotic development. In a 5 min piece performed in the Dance NOW Festival at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater in New York, NY, an onstage performer (our first author) exhibited choreography while controlling robotic wings with a small handheld button.…”

“…Although we used a push button sensor for the performance in Ladenheim et al, (2020) , ultimately, we wanted to enact an embodied semi-conscious channel between the performer and the artificial wings. Our goal was to both provide an active channel where the performer could voluntarily trigger the motion of the device as well as a channel where sometimes the wings moved without the performer consciously choosing their action.…”

“…However, pressure sensitive materials are easy to purchase, fabricate, and integrate into an electrical circuit. An early prototype used in rehearsal for Babyface critically impacted the choreography and created character described in Ladenheim et al, (2020) . It utilized a similar design that was difficult to reliably calibrate and configure beneath the wing harness.…”