Lives of Performers

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Lives of Performers

Exhibition

Film, installation, performance, photography

Past: October 25, 2014 → February 8, 2015

The Art Center presents an exhibition to pay homage to the legendary dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer.

Born in 1934, Yvonne Rainer, a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, has influenced artists over several generations. Having developed a unique understanding of the relation between the private and the public within her work as a choreographer, she subsequently transposed this understanding to her cinematographic work.

The title is taken from Yvonne Rainer’s first feature film Lives of Performers. Directed in 1972, the film represents a radical turn away from her respected career as a choreographer towards cinema. From 1966 to 1969, she had already made five short films, which she described as ‘choreographic exercises’, projected during her dance performances.

The exhibition focuses on these six films, which will be shown along with a vast array of hitherto unseen archives. In addition, a number of contemporary artists will create, exhibit and/or perform works that echo Rainer’s preoccupations as a choreographer and filmmaker. Installations, photographs, films and performances will thus examine the notion of ‘real time’, the relation between presence and representation, the political,
gender and identity stakes of performance, etc.

“Lives of Performers” is part of the Yvonne Rainer Project developed by Chantal Pontbriand in partnership with the Jeu de Paume.

“From Choreography to Cinema” : Jeu de Paume Films, vidéo and seminars 4-30 November at Jeu de Paume

Lives of Performers — Vernissage-brunch Opening Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 12 PM

Shuttle/departure at 11 :30 from Opéra Bastille/ return Bastille and FIAC at 14:30 — Free on reservation, call 01 64 62 77 77
Performance de Carole Douillard — The waiting room Event Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 12 PM

In an empty exhibition space, a group of men wait for something that never transpires. Tracing its origins in the Arab tradition of ‘hittistes’ (meaning ‘people leaning on the walls’), the silent action lasts six hours, constituting a real tableau vivant — Free entrance.
Performance de Yael Davids — A Variation or A Reading that Writes Performance Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 5:30 PM

Mêlant son histoire personnelle et son intérêt pour l’œuvre d’Yvonne Rainer, l’artiste élabore une performance inédite qui s’articule autour du mouvement et de la voix, et explore l’usage du récit et des émotions comme expression d’enjeux formels et politiques. Cette performance est réalisée en collaboration avec André van Bergen et Sivan Medioni, avec le soutien des Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers.
Performance de Émilie Pitoiset & Jessica 93 — You will see the cat before you leave Performance Saturday, November 29, 2014 at 6:30 PM

Dans cette installation conçue comme un stage-set, les objets gisent, vestiges d’un geste absent. Que s’est-il passé ou reste à venir ? Une perruque « en réserve d’incarnation » est activée le temps d’une performance réalisée avec le musicien Jessica 93. Vous entrerez ici par et pour la fiction.
Finissage — Performance de Noé Soulier Performance Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 3 PM
Noé Soulier’s choreography invokes the philosophic and artistic in order to explore the relationship between movement and thought. By combining the most diverse approaches and discourses, he explores the manner in which we perceive and in which we interpret gestures with several different approaches.