Thursday, March 22, 2007

old news: collaging some attractions


i have been working on getting some previous historical work up to date for the portfolio, starting with raymond roussel.
the collages that follow are based off of a few of the attractions that occur in the play. for further descriptions of the attractions, or the plot overview, refer to the previous post below.


attraction one: the earthworm zither player

collage: "the earthworm zither player" by c. grant. 2007.


This was the first collage completed in the series of roussel-inspired collages. the zither player instrument is one of the most bizarre and grotesque mechanisms developed in the play; a worm crawls through a thick, mercury-like liquid. liquid drops onto the strings of the zither. in the play, it is said that the worm has been trained to do this task, composing music.


attraction two: the one-legged lelgoualch plays the flute made of his own tibia

collage: "the one-legged lelgoualch playing the flute made of his own tibia," by c. grant. 2007.


this second collage was completed after a series of attempts to create a legless man playing a flute; after these trials, it became clear that the flute itself was what was interesting. strangely, the geometry of the flute image fit perfectly with that of the bone (unfortunately, it is not a tibia).


attraction three: cats playing the game of 'prisoners'

collage: "cats playing the game of 'prisoners,'" by c. grant. 2007.


the third collage, inspired by the cats playing a game of prisoners, shows not only the cat, but the boy that has trained them to accomplish the task. the description of the attraction states that he is dressed in standard vaudeville, which is strange on a young boy. again, it is this attraction that wins the award of the Incomparibles Club.


attraction four: the echoing chests of the alcott brothers

collage: "the echoing chests of the alcott brothers," by c. grant. 2007.


the chests of the alcott brothers are so completely emaciated that they reverberate sound from one to the other. their father yells his name, and it echoes through the space. the collage shows the brothers as a series of bizarre, deformed, and identical people; it is the emaciation, and the concept of sound reverberation through our body cavities that makes this attraction particularly grotesque.


attraction five: the punishment of pins

collage: "the punishment of pins," by c. grant. 2007.


the final collage in the series shows the queen rul during her "punishment of pins." in the first part of the play, the queen has an affair with another in her tribe; she later attacks her daughter. her husband, furious with her actions, has golden hairpins pushed through the old corset that she wears.

posted by chelsea @ 2:33 PM

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