Alfred Foundations

The words Tableau Vivant roughly translate to living picture and usually refer to a live re-enactment of a work of art. For your final project of Fall semester Foundations you will each collaborate to create a Tableau Vivant that is inspired by a work of art. The event will take place on December 7th at 7pm in Holmes. make sure to invite friends and family… it’s usually an amazingly fun event!

Read on for the details….

1. For this project you will first need to organize yourselves into 10 groups with 14 members in each group.

2. Then you will need to choose an art work that you would like to re-create.  We have selected a wide range of artworks that are appropriate for this project which are accessible online through ArtStor.  The images are collected in a folder on ArtStor marked Tableau Vivant, there are approximately 30+  images from art history. These images can be viewed online and then downloaded and printed for your reference.  You were all given a demo during one of your art history plenary sessions this fall and all you need to do is to go on www.artstor.org to log in and then find the folder/sub folder marked Tableau Vivant.  Once you and your group have chosen an art work to use please email Angie (toay@alfred.edu) a confirmation with artist name and work title.

3. During the final review week you will be meeting with your group to work on making your Tableau Vivant. Every member of your group must participate; though you do not all need to be on stage at the same time during the performance.

4. You must also elect one member of your group to research the artist and the work of art. This information will be presented to the audience at the beginning of your performance.

5. Materials and skills! This assignment brings to bear all of the skills you have learned throughout the semester — therefore materials are open to all that you have used this semester.  It is up to you and your group to source out and gather these materials.  Since you are all going home for the break that would be a good time to find materials for the project. For example — old sheets are good for back drops, old house paint is good for sets, clothing from your parents’ basement would be great for costumes.  You could also scrounge over at RePo — be resourceful!

6. Where to work? While the reviews are going on during the week you will be working on this project in the Harder Hall studio — please do not work in Cohen.

7. Rehearsals will begin on Thursday the 3rd, Friday the 4th and Monday the 7th. You will receive further info about how to contact Randy Gillette who runs Holmes Auditorium.  He will help you with your lighting ideas and could play music that you select for the performance.

8. The performance will happen on the night of December 7th at 7pm.  It is open to the public and is very well attended by the campus.

9. THE DETAILS. Each performance should be a maximum of 3 minutes. An image of the original artwork will be projected next to the stage during your performance. Your job is to creatively choreograph how to enter, exit and move during those three minutes. In the end you should be in the pose of the original artwork and will hold that pose for a few moments before you leave the stage. Think about how to use movement, light, sound, your bodies, costumes and props to surprise and delight the audience.

This information will also be posted in the studios.  If you have questions please don’t hesitate to email either Angie, Ted or Michelle.

Yes, performance art is in the air! First with your line performance next Monday at 7:30… and then with the amazingly fun and dynamic Tableau Vivant that you will all be a part of soon! For inspiration check out the Performa event site for links to a number of current performance artists or take a moment to check out the Harp + Silver site, two artists who visited Alfred last year.

http://performa-arts.org/blog/performa-09/artists/

http://harpsilver.com/