Aesthetic of movement

Academy of Fine Arts in Prague / Prague / Czech Republic

Technika / video, 1920 × 1080, 08:48

For an ideal illustration of this video, imagine a boxing tournament. Boxing, formerly also "cornering", is a martial art in which two opponents try to knock each other out using the rules allowed by punches. Sports boxing originated in the 18th century in Great Britain, and despite its brutal undertone, it is very popular in modern society in all walks of life. So if we go back to the boxing tournament, we can observe spectators who are interested in the technique of fighters, the dynamic course and the result of the tournament, which is not clear until the last second of the match. Boxers, under enormous psychological pressure, try to use all their abilities to eliminate the opponent, or else he eliminates them.

We will omit these main factors with which the fight is connected, and we will focus only on its essence in the visual interface, ie on the movement, which I perceive as the key to the potential of the visual aesthetics of the fight.

The distribution of motion to individual points frees us from visual disturbance and from the surrounding space. Thanks to this, we are offered a pure impression of the movement dynamics of the duel. The overall effect consists of several interacting elements. The movements of one fighter are based on reactions to the movement of another, thus creating the impression of a synchronized whole, even though they are in fact competing with each other. This reveals new levels of combat.