With Yvonne Rainer / Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz / Julien Crépieux / Yael Davids / Carole Douillard / Maria Loboda / Mai-Thu Perret / Émilie Pitoiset / Noé Soulier

Curators: Julie Pellegrin & Chantal Pontbriand

The exhibition Lives of Performers is a tribute to the legendary American dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer. Born in 1934 and one of the founders of the Judson Dance Theatre, Rainer has been a major influence on subsequent generations of artists. After applying to choreography the results of her research into everyday interplay between the private and the political, she then transposed them into her film work.

The exhibition title Lives of Performers was originally that of Rainer’s first full-length film, made in 1972 at the time of her transition to the cinema. Between 1966 and 1969 she had already made five short films: Hand Movie, Volleyball, Rhode Island Red, Trio Film and Line.

Structured around continuous screening of these six films, the exhibition also includes contributions from artists invited to create or present works marked by their affinities with Rainer. It opens with a selection from the choreographer/filmmaker’s archives at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles: working notes, diary, scores, photographs of rehearsals and performances, posters, publications and sound recordings.  

As its title suggests, the project addresses the question of “liveness” in performance. What is the relationship between presence and representation? How does quotation, or what is now called re-enactment, impinge on reality, presence and the present time? What are the issues in performativity? How are these issues played out politically, and in the sphere of matters of genre?

This exhibition is brought to you in partnership with Pontbriand W.O.R.K.S., the Jeu de Paume, the Getty Research Institute, thanks to the support of Pro Helvetia, Fondation suisse pour la culture.

Performances
Saturday 25 October, noon: Carole Douillard

Saturday 29 November
5:30pm: Yael Davids
6:30pm: Émilie Pitoiset & Jessica 93

Sunday 8 February: Noé Soulier

The Yvonne Rainer Project
The Yvonne Rainer Project was instigated by curator Chantal Pontbriand, who has been working on it for some years now. After an initial showing at the British Film Institute in London in 2010, different forms of the project are moving this year into three Paris venues: the Centre d’art contemporain de la Ferme du Buisson, the Jeu de Paume and the Palais de Tokyo.

Shuttle service for opening
11:30am Opéra Bastille; 2:30pm Bastille and FIAC
booking T +33 (0) 1 64 62 77 77