Soundpainting is the live composing sign language created in 1974 by New York composer Walter Thompson for musicians, dancers, actors, poets, and visual artists. At present the Soundpainting language comprises more than 1200 gestures that are signed by the composer/director, known as the Soundpainter, indicating the type of material desired of the performers. Direction of the composition is gained through the parameters of each set of signed gestures. Soundpainting has grown to become an international live composing sign language used in many countries around the world both in the professional and educational arenas.
Soundpainting as a pedagogical tool
Soundpainting is a fascinating tool to work with children, art students, teachers, amateur theatre groups or choirs, children with different cultural background or with special needs. It helps practice listening, understanding the group energy and improve the individual skills to improvise with voice, movement or with a theatrical character. Its multidisciplinary structure, gives every single participant the possibility to perform and to compose during the same workshop or project.
The education system of our times leaves a limited space for creativity and innovation. Where asSoundpainting offers a new space of creativity through allowing participants to make mistakes and are encouraged to see their mistakes as a new possibility. They are welcome to feel comfortable with the coherence of their mistakes as individuals and as a group.
As a multidisciplinary Soundpainter and a member of the Soundpainting community, Ceren Oran had the opportunity to lead many workshops and projects in various countries and cultural contexts. She received in June 2015 an award "Soundpainting as an Integration Project" from Austrian Federal Ministry of Education and Women's Affairs for her project with the integration School Josefiau – Salzburg.
In each of these experiences, the feedback of the participants confirm that there is an immense need for tools like Soundpainting in creations and art education to catalyse creative processes and enhance harmonization across disciplines under one language. As the interest and demand for multidisciplinary creativity grows every passing day, Soundpainting lets participants discover new ways of thinking, new areas of personal strengths and new possibilities for group dynamics. Improvising freely within a given frame and not getting lost in the concepts of techniques result in artistic self realization and creative fulfilment.
Analysis of a Soundpainting Workshop and Observed Positive Effects
The Soundpainter (the composer, teacher, trainer..) standing in front (usually) of the group communicates a series of signs using hand and body gestures indicating specific and/or aleatoric material to be performed by the group. The Soundpainter develops the responses of the performers, molding and shaping them into the composition then signs another series of gestures, a phrase, and continues in this process of composing the piece.
The Soundpainter composes in real time utilizing the gestures to create the composition in any way they desire. The Soundpainter sometimes knows what he/she will receive from the performers and sometimes does not know what he/she will receive – the elements of specificity and chance.
The gestures of the Soundpainting language are signed using the syntax of Who, What, How and When.
Because of its multidisciplinary structure, every single of participant can try to perform as an actor, a musician a dancer or the soundpainter during the same workshop. It is a challenge but a big discovery at the same time as a performer.
Some of the benefits of a Soundpainting workshop are:
- to practice creative thinking with an open mind,
- to discover that there is more than one right answer, multiple points of view
- to earn observe, analyze and interpret,
- to express feelings without words,
- to practice problem-solving skills, critical-thinking skills, dance, music, theater and art-making skills,
- to learn to collaborate with other children and learn to tolerate each other,
- to build self-confidence. Because there is not just one right way to create with soundpainting, every child can feel pride in his or her original artistic creations.
Ceren Oran as a Soundpainter
(born in 1984, Istanbul) moved to Salzburg to study contemporary dance at SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance); after 2 years of studies in Yildiz Technical University Art and Design Faculty. Since she finished her postgraduate Masters at SEAD; she is working as a freelance dancer, choreographer and soundpainter. She danced and worked with many multidisciplinary artists for her own creations all around Europe and America.
In 2010, Ceren started to build a career as a Soundpainter and Soundpainting trainer, which allows her to explore multidisciplinary free improvisation and compose live 'in the moment' improvisational material on the stage. She studied with Walter Thompson (Founder of Soundpainting) by the scholarship of Austrian Ministry of Culture (BMUKK). Since 9 years she is working as a soundpainter and as a performer with many different international Soundpainting Collectives all around Europe and United States, meanwhile as a second level certificated multidisciplinary soundpainting trainer she keeps on organizing workshops for different kinds of groups, such as: Multidisciplinary artists and art students, Refugees, Children with special needs, Primary School Classes, Kindergartens, Amateur Theater Groups, Choirs.
At the moment she is based in Munich and leading projects and workshops all around the world.
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Click here to see Ceren Oran’s Teaching Experience