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2008-01-09

by Ed Rampell

'Spontaneous Fantasia'

Summary

Where the stars are the stars

Article

Even the seating for Spontaneous Fantasia is unique as I’ve heard of “stadium seating,” but this innovative production features what could be called “planetarium seating,” with the seats completely recline so one has the sensation of stargazing. This is only appropriate as Spontaneous Fantasia takes place at Glendale Community College Planetarium, presenting what may very well be a new art medium that’s simply out of this world.

J. Walt Adamczyk uses computer software to combine abstract imagery, performance art and recorded music composed by Pachelbel, Adamczyk, and others. The graphic forms are projected overhead on the planetarium’s dome, as the shapes swish, zoom and soar to the music. The software allows Adamczyk to create on his feet and on the spur of the moment, as the mood moves him during an approximately hour-long show that culminates with a Q&A with the maestro after each live show.

Adamczyk, who won a Technical Oscar for creating a “real-time pre-visualization system” is a visionary who calls his graphic ballet of form, movement and sound “performance animation.” While some may find the imagery and music to be monotonous, others may see in Adamczyk’s innovative aural light show the seeds of a brand new art and form of expression that takes Impressionism, Abstract Art and more into the 21st century realm of computerization. Think action painter Jackson Pollack and Moog synthesizer pioneer Wendy/Walter Carlos on Purple Owsley.

In its title and technique Adamczyk’s Spontaneous Fantasia pays homage to that other Walt and animation innovator, Walt Disney. In the best of the cartoon tradition, this live performance is, to coin a phrase, “sponTOONeous,” and well worth seeing for those who enjoy that which lies outside of the proverbial box.

Spontaneous Fantasia takes place January 11, 12, 25, 26; February 8, 9, 22, 23; Fridays at 8 p.m. Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. at Glendale Community College Planetarium, on the campus at 1500 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale, CA 91208. Call: (626) 688-0778. Admission: $10 for adults, $6 for children.