Sharon Yang Looking Outwards 08

Eyeo 2014 – Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat from Eyeo Festival on Vimeo.

The artists that I have been inspired by are Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat. They are  both from Montreal but they work all over the US and in Canada. Mouna studied New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and Melissa holds Creative Practice for Narrative Environments from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK. They are the founders of Daily Tous Les Jours. Daily Tous Les Jours is a design studio that uses technology and storytelling to explore collaboration of different individuals to induce change. It is known for its work in public spaces; their projects involve inviting passing crowds to play important roles in changing their environment. Their work utilizes tools such as  digital arts, performance, and contemporary devices such as sensors, phones and real-time data, to musical instruments, dance choreographies, food and meditation. Out of their many outstanding projects, the one that attracted my attention was Choreographie pour humans et les etoiles (Choreography for humans and stars). The goal of the project was to get passing crowds to dance in public as if they were celestial bodies, which many would not do in fear of others’ judgments.  During the project, the crowd were instructed to hold hands and lean back while spinning as fast as they could. Their celestial motions were captured by a camera and were processed into a graphic of universe on the screen. I found it highly interesting to see how the crowds, though some at first were reluctant to do it, but became increasingly comfortable with doing it especially as other people joined them to do it. I found the project highly inspiring and powerful as it delivers a message of how you should not be afraid of others’ judgements and be willing to act differently from the norm sometimes.

As for their presentation, I believe it was done quite effectively. It was not one of those highly engaging with funny jokes or heartfelt and powerful presentations, but was calmly done and the content was delivered clearly. As an audience I felt comfortable watching their presentation. Also, as they are co-founders of an organization and have been working with each other for a while, them presenting together also worked very well. I learned that presentations can be calm and still be able to communicate effectively.

Mouna and Melissa’s websites: http://www.dailytouslesjours.com/about/

http://inst-int.com/speaker/mouna-andraos/

http://inst-int.com/speaker/melissa-mongiat/