Mai-Thu Perret, An Evening of the Book

(Short film produced to promote the release of three films by Mai-Thu Perret)

Originally produced for The Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art and filmed on location at the Kitchen NY, Evening was conceived as a ‘remake’ of the 1924 agit prop play of the same title that was conceived as an experiment in mass artistic agitation for the book, and dramatized the conflict between old pre-revolutionary and new revolutionary books. Using actors from the academy of communist education, in a set & with costumes designed by Varvara Stepanova, it was a pantomime that culminated in the victory of the revolutionary heroes and a parade of libraries and new editions.

This performance, in which books and letters are actors in their own right, seemed a suitable starting point for the artist’s first array into moving images. Using props sometimes inspired by those of the original evenings, such as the books or the sports costume, sometimes unrelated such as the fluorescent tubes, the cut out from the banner, or the commas, Mai-Thu Perret devised the outline of a choreography which was performed for the camera by a team composed of artist friends such as Amy Granat or Fia Backström, and professional dancers.