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Balloonproposed by Caroline Hurley for Production Workshop's 3rd Slot April 16th-19th Project: Paint:I propose a performance that explores the process of painting in the context of performance. Rather than creating a standard two-dimensional painting, my project will use the entire permormance space as canvas in which shapes, colors, and lines take form within a continuously developing conceptual framework. The work of art will consist of the physical process of creating a painting in space through the use of materials and motion. Because the art piece will be embodied in the act of creation itself, there will leave no permanent record -- no physical work of art. For me a painting is fundamentally a living thing, in a constant state of change. A major tenet of post-modern theory is emancipation from the constraints of preconceived methodologies and conclusions. In accordance with this principle, the interaction of the team producing the art will result in an adaptive, organic performance. The film "The Red Balloon" by Albert Lamorisse will provide structural and aesthetic guidelines for the performance. My intention is for the project to expand ideas and themes in the film towards an end product that embraces an open dialogue between the space, the people, and the materials involved. The rehearsals will grow from the ideas and images that emerge from the interactions of the group. I intend to have the whole crew working together as a team, brainstorming constantly and never losing the momentum and flow of the piece, keeping sight of the fact that this will be a community where collaboration is key. As with any painting whose conclusion is unknown, there is a risk for everyone. It is my contention that such a risk is precisely what is vital to stimulate and give form to this wowrk. Excitement and energy will inevitably result. Painting:I love to paint. I love the physicality of it. I love the viscosity of the medium, the way it drips and slops around and is flexible and giving and spontaneous and simultaneously confusing and unsettling and scary. Painting is freedom and energy combined. It is whatever thoughts and experiences you want to express and throw out into a white canvas. This project will joyfully pick up where the action painters left off. This "canvas" will go beyond paint and will embody experiences of a collaborative effort. The Story:"The Red Balloon" was made in 1956 by the French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. It is a silent film layered with music composed to fit the action of the boy and his balloon. The story is a simple one: a small boy rescues a large red balloon that is tied to a lamppost. The boy and the balloon create a relationship that gets squashed by schoolboys who are jealous of their friendship. After the death of the Red balloon the boy looks up to find himself surrounded by multicolored balloons which take him up into the sky above the city of Paris. Its simplicity gives rise to many different meanings and individual conclusions about what the red balloon symbolizes. Many critics have described the film as an allegory for Jesus Christ, Communism, and Buddhism. What I came away with after watching and re-watching "The Red Balloon" is the idea of identity. After the young boy finds and rescues the red balloon, a relationship develops that helps the boy understand and know himself better through his new friend. There is a moment in the film where the boy and the balloon stumble upon a flea market where the boy looks at an old painting of a young girl while the balloon gazes at its reflection in a dusty mirror. I found this scene compelling because it is the moment where the pair realize that their identities are fundamentally different. Before this scene they give every appearance of being unselfconscious in their friendship, but after it, identity intervenes. A couple components of the painting:The scene that I rewound over and over again and want to incorporate into the painting was the tragic and gracefully beautiful death scene of "The Red Balloon." After a pebble is shot into the heart of the balloon it slowly begins to deflate swaying back and forth like an old drunkard staggering for balance. As the helium contained inside its thin red skin slowly escapes, the balloon's outer layer shrivels and buckles until finally it drops sadly to the ground. Soon after, a small schoolboy stomps out any life remaining. For this scene I imagine a video taken from the original film by Albert Lamorisse projected onto a large piece of slowly moving fabric. The video will be an image of an image so the audience is further removed from the original film. In front of the video in the foreground will be the small boy holding another red balloon that has become brighter and larger and more vibrant. During this death scene there will be a soundtrack based on burial music from an African tribe called the Mbuti people from the Uturi Forest. This tribe believes death is a celebration of life and their music for burials reflects this celebration. I am very interested in creating new music for this performance by layering and changing the speeds of various existing music. Another Visual from the Painting:In the beginning of the film "The Red Balloon," before the credits begin, there is a test screen of colors. This will be the basis of the beginning of the work, the first layer. The different strips of light: blues, greens, reds, will be projected onto a cloth with an actor inside each strip of color so they become that color. There will then be a choreographed dance in which the actors will move into different colors. There will also be long-stringed balloons filled with helium floating to the top of the space, possibly the ceiling. I intend to create energy at all levels of the space. This opening will help to establish the main theme of identity, with the actors interacting with the different colors (symbolizing identities) and eachother. Music will act as a type of interactive layering as well, with different pieces of music from different cultures being played simultaneously. This framework is only the structure of the piece as presently conceived. I anticipate a lot may change. It is also an example of how I want the piece to come to fruition. I expect the actors to move through and become involved with the different colors and identities and to have a dialogue about identity and relationships that influences how the dance itself takes place. Experience:My decision to go to art school was somewhat spontaneous relative to my other option which was the Tisch theatre program at NYU. Throughout high school I was very involved with a very strong performing arts program. I attended Carnegie Mellon's summer theatre program for acting where I also directed the creation of a small performance. For the last couple of summers I have run an art program for 3rd through 6th grade children in Memphis which has also yielded a number of collaborative performances with the children and the work that they created. The closest I've been to what I'm now proposing occurred at the end of high school. I was involved in a collaborative piece that 10 of my fellow students wrote, directed and performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The nonhierarchical dialogue that allowed us all to partake in every aspect and the result was very satisfying. At RISD I was involved in a more traditional play my freshman year that was written and directed by a Graphic Designer who designed the work. We were directed but throughout we were a group involved in the decision making process. We collaborated on character development, set design, and various other tasks that often are the sole domain of the director. I was also part of a creative problem solving team composed of seven members called Odyssey of the Mind. We worked together for eight years and became highly skilled and extremely efficient in collaboration. Creative potential was maximized because we divided the tasks amongst ourselves. In doing so it became apparent that strength lies not in the individual but in the group. Why PW:The board meeting was very influential in my proposing to PW. Individualism reigns supreme at RISD and as a result it is very hard to create a large collaborative piece. There is a great divide between Brown and RISD which can only be counteracted through situations such as this where a fully engaging experience brings the two sides together. For this performance I have invited many extremely talented and creative classmates from the painting, textile, printmaking and industrial design departments to come aboard in addition to Brown students. The positive energy and commitment shown by the board makes clear the possibilities of creating something progressive with a support system that I believe is truly unique. If I am granted this proposal it will establish a link between Brown and RISD that will foster greater involvement between these institutions. My timing for this project is dictated, somewhat, by the fact that I'm about to graduate. I am a senior at RISD and would love the opportunity to create a performance in the space PW provides. There is so much positive energy and progressive work being done in your space both upstairs and downstairs. I would be thrilled and deeply honored to be a part of such an environment. From the meeting it became apparent that new and progressive ideas are what production workshop is all about. I think my project would work well in such an environment. Freedom is so key for my performance. When I go to studio to paint I allow myself the freedom as I said before to allow anything to happen. Accidents and mistakes are welcome and this kind of freedom it seems is exactly what PW offers. Freedom to create new ideas that make people think and doubt and question and want more is what I want. Freedom to mix and mold and twist, curl and bend painting with space is what this project needs and wants. Staff: Budget:
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