Sculpture on Stage

The theatre: a hub of creative performance; the results and consequences of great minds thinking alike, thinking together, and producing brilliance that astounds and inspires again and again.

But would you go to see a show who's main cast consisted entirely of performing sculptures? I'm not kidding.

We love to be entertained, which is why we still love going to see productions, even one's that we've seen before. Part of this draw to the stalls, are the electrifying performances of the actors- they convince you wholeheartedly that they are exactly who they are on the stage- a widowed child, a grieving mother, a secretive daughter. But what happens when you swap human with sculpture? Does the performance become any less gripping? Any less convincing? I read a review of Elmgreen and Dragset's piece Drama Queens, which starred in it's very own theatrical production for Skulpture Projekte Munster- testament to the fact that theatre is truly diversifying.

I picked up a copy of the arts and culture magazine 'Aesthetica'- I'd never read it before or actually really heard of it- my Dad was taking his sweet time reading the FT in the Wh Smith newspaper aisle, and so I had a gander around the arts section and found it behind 'Knitting Weekly' and 'English Gardens' - I highly recommend this for anyone interested in the modern art world, new exhibitions, and innovation coming in from diverse angles by upcoming and established artists from all over the world- a really interesting and worthwhile read. So anyway, back to performing sculptures.

Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are forward thinkers; they don't settle for the norm, they don't float with the status quo. They subvert the viewer's expectation of what art is, but not in a dry & distant way- it is engaging, inclusive & most importantly, amusing. The piece 'Drama Queens' consists of some of the most iconic pieces of sculpture in the 20th century- Warhol's 'Brillo Boxes', Hepworth's 'Elegy III' and Giacometti's 'Walking Man' to name but a few. Collectively, they represent different areas of modern art and also synecdoche's of their creators- the dialogue they exchange between one another is based largely on this. 

The 'characters' are slightly larger than life size and are motorised, being radio controlled from the wings with actors providing their voices. Tim Etchells, an art installer, comments: 

'There's a great sense of fun in the piece but at heart it's pretty sad too. Maybe there's always something melancholic about objects that start to talk'

I found this comment melancholic in itself actually- talking objects are cool, but yes, I guess kinda sad too, as if they'll never know what it is 'to feel'.

So if this has sparked an interest for you in 'Drama Queens', Elmgreen & Dragset or anything I have mentioned- go and find out more! Do a google search or something- or buy 'Aesthetica', you won't regret it.

Me when I take my driving test