Corpus Corvus is an experimental mixed reality performance artwork that utilizes stereoscopic projection, motion capture animation, an integrated physical / media choreographic vocabulary, and electroacoustic composition to explore the Pacific Northwest Native American myth of the raven as god and thief who steals the sun and creates the universe. The title Corpus Corvus refers to the body of the raven. The piece traverses the environment of the Corpus Corvus through dilations into ten corporeal dimensions: formation, throat, wing, eye, claw, belly, brain, heart, spine, dissolution. Each of these segments articulates an integrated three-dimensional kinesthetic-audio-visual composition.

Formally, the piece explores the relationship between movement of a physical body and stereoscopic animation in a physical/digital three-dimensional image field. The animation is generated from motion capture data and kinesthetic media composition processes based on physical choreography. Through precise temporal alignment and stereoscopic theatrical effect, the projected animation is perceived to surround the performing body in physical space.

The work is performed by a solo dancer. Duration is 16:30. The mixed reality performance environment consists of a 9' diameter circular scrim with stereoscopic projection, theatrical lighting, and stereo sound. Corpus Corvus premiered in Seattle, Washington, USA, at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center on February 5, 2011.

The art/research process informing and contextualizing Corpus Corvus is a practice-based exploration and discovery of an emerging theatrical poetics. The premise for this poetics is an expansion of the body that extends the human sensory system into immersive media perceptual hyperspaces. Corpus Corvus probes this premise through four primary research trajectories that constitute the technical and artistic foundations for the artwork: · Mixed Reality Performance · Contemporary Mythos · Expanded Embodiment · Immersive Media Composition.

This document illuminates the process of research, manifestation, and discovery within each of the four trajectories. The approach reflects DXARTS art/research methodologies, building upon the integral idea that new form emerges from excavations into deep historical bedrock in tandem with technological innovation and forward-thrusting probes. Accordingly, elements of form and technical processes integral to the construction of Corpus Corvus are contextualized by the historical root systems that support and inform the creation of the work.