Transforming Jodi's Quake mod into musical score
for Natalie Portman's Black Swan combined with
prosthetic legs for Portman's character, therefore
illustrating the toll ballet took on her, and in
this case, I add, on every dancer, male or female,
on our blue planet earth. The legs shall dance in
another world and another life, over and over
again, their injuries only signs of brilliance and
inconceivable dedication and virtuosity.
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan.mp3
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan1.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan2.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan3.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan4.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan5.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan6.jpg
http://www.alansondheim.org/blackswan7.jpg
(this was originally done yesterday as a piece but fits in here well
with the theme of anorectic / pain / avatar...
Now there's an uncanny pair of legs. So real until you see the fluted edge near the ankle. Did Natalie Portman wear these as a second skin in the film?
ReplyDeleteHow interesting that they're exhibited like this. It reminds me of an exhibition I saw at the Wellcome Collection in London - Exquisite Bodies - http://www.wellcomecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions/exquisite-bodies.aspx
Here's the blurb:
"In the 19th century, despite the best efforts of body snatchers, the demand from medical schools for fresh cadavers far outstripped the supply. One solution to this gruesome problem came in the form of lifelike wax models. These models often took the form of alluring female figures that could be stripped and split into different sections. Other models were more macabre, showing the body ravaged by 'social diseases' such as venereal disease, tuberculosis and alcohol and drug addiction.
"With their capacity to titillate as well as educate, anatomical models became sought-after curiosities, displayed not only in dissecting rooms but also in sideshows and the curiosity cabinets of wealthy Victorian gentlemen. For a small admission fee, visitors seeking an unusual afternoon's entertainment could visit displays of these strange dolls in London, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona.
"This exhibition explores the forgotten history of the anatomical model, which with its unique combination of serious science and fairground horror provides a rare insight into 19th-century beliefs about the body."
models are yet another manifestation of all of this. the legs at the musuem, though, were out of place - most of the prosthetics were of comic-book heroes or things like Star Wars, etc. - there was an element of magic about them. The legs were slightly isolated and seemed in a different world, of abjection, self-mutiliation, and cruelty - that's where their strength and disturbance came from. As if they were part of an everyday occurrence...
ReplyDelete