A Faraway Cold Palace (广寒宫)
Katarina Sengstaken, Timea Tofalvi, Yuxiang Wen
Installation and Performance
We had a successfull performance and installation on March 11th, thank you everyone who came!
There will be pictures of the installation posted shortly.
Please enjoy the videos of our performance as well as the creation of our project!
<videoflash type="youtube">nh5B8pQKP0o|340|275</videoflash> The Setup Process
Concept
The moon has come into focus again in the great Space race. It has been forty years since Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, now after the recent discovery of water on the moon a new interest has been sparked about finally heading back. In this new moon race has new contenders, the US and Russia are no longer in the lead. By 2015 it might be a Chinese man to be the next to step foot on the moon.
We conceptualize our project around dissolving the western ideals and myths about the moon and working with Chinese mythology and symbolism as our focus. Our concept of the moon stems from the three Chinese moon myths the story of Chang'e 嫦娥, Wu Gang吴刚 , and the Jade Rabbit 玉兔. These three myths revolve around a mystical laurel tree that grows on the moon.
Our project is not just an installation, but also involves a performance piece. The installation itself takes place in the Basement room of Marien Strasse 5, where its floors will be covered with fine ash sculpted to look like the lunar surface. The archway in the room is covered and shaped into a crescent where luminescent blue light, represents a lunar earth-rise.
Light with Ash
Installation Process
One small step for Timi
Creating the craters
the bags of ash
Brining in the Ash
Installation Process
Installation Process
Attaching the canvas to the frame
Lighting test
Creating a drop ceiling
The base for the craters
Meeting with the actors
The Sketch
Performance
Our concept behind the performance stems from the three Chinese moon myths Chang’e, Wu Gang, and the Jade rabbit. These roles shall be played out in our rendition, influenced not only by the space but also from our perception of these characters in contrast to modern moon missions.
The performance features the three Chinese mythological characters representing the Chinese moon mythology. The costumes and actions are stylized and simplified through our artistic rendition of their stories influenced by current events, mainly the discovery of water on the moon.
Their actions are slow and elegant as if they move at half speed. Their movements are defined by their characters, such as the chopping of the uncuttable tree, the mulling of the mortar, and the morning of Chang’e. The actors pantomime the gestures, and the sound is then played into the space.
The performance will last around an hour, with the chance for people to come and view the performance on the opening day of our installation. These roles will be played by Chinese students here in Weimar.
Installation
The room where we plan on creating our installation and making the performance in, is located under Merienstraße 5, at the end of a long corridor. One enters the room after making a turn down a corridor, and has to step into the space. The room features high ceilings with pipes, cement floors, and an archway to a small alcove.
We plan on working with the rooms unique architectural elements, such as the archway. We plan on blocking off the alcove and turning the bottom part of the archway into a horizontal crescent light. We plan on covering up a few of the rooms features, such as the piping and the circuit box with dark fabric so that these unnecessary elements do not interfere with the experience.
Related Video
<videoflash type="youtube">J9lLfaEdTMQ|340|282</videoflash> Chang'e in PekingOpera form -嫦娥奔月
<videoflash type="youtube">6Bo9l90vuUo|340|280</videoflash> Cremaster 5 - Proscenium Arch