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Embedded in the Bed Box Theatre are inter-linked stories. The
Story of the Bed Box Theatre tells of the emergence of a female
voice and active performance, as a girl finds a theatre nestled
in the spiral skeleton of her bed.
The animation, The Cuckoo
in the Staircase: Gabriel Said, is a tale of Maria's creativity
when faced with a difficult choice, in a parallel scenario of
a saintly happening — with an alternate twist.
An excerpt from Virginia Woolf's essay, ”Professions for
Women” is re-told, as a Winding Staircase, Cuckoo Birds,
Books, Bingo, and Polka Shoes surface through the dreams in the
Bed Box Theatre. The computer becomes a tool for navigating through
a miniaturized architecture in a landscape of memory and the imaginary.
As part of the Centre For Art Tapes‘ Computer Scholarship
Program, I produced Embedded in 1997. It was re-edited, with an
entirely new soundtrack and an animated segment, in 1999.
Background
I find the ability to merge story telling with the computer particularly exciting. I vividly remember the landscapes in the animations that I watched on television as a child. These landscapes were very dream-like and although I knew them to be artificial, I wanted to 'enter‘ them. Using the computer, I can create a virtual' world where I am active in its making instead of just watching it unfold. The computer enables me to direct on a miniaturized scale, merging many of my interests; feminism, architecture, painting, sculpture, animation and writing.
I had made the House of My Own assemblage previously; within it is a window-box with a picture of ”The Annunciation” by Gerard David collaged in it as well as an essay by Virginia Woolf. Her writings were definitely an inspiration, especially ”Professions for Women” and ”A Room of One's Own”. I wanted to animate this box, within a larger structure, to explore these ideas even further.
House of My Own, 1995
Assemblage (60"x 72")
Collection of the artist
© Julie Lapalme
I was also inspired to write The Cuckoo in the Staircase: Gabriel Said after reading an email by an Italian Art Critic, posted on the Guerrilla Girls ‘Hate Mail‘ link on their Web Site. It was a vicious attack on the Guerrilla Girls and feminism in general, addressing them as ”a bunch of communists, bitches and hoars [sic]”... He went on to write that the best work of art a woman can make is in bed pro-creating and that the only female genius is the Virgin Mary. I was shocked that some people still believe in this limiting essentialism and there is such anger towards women active in the production of art and culture. It saddened me but also made me angry and fueled the piece along.
The Cuckoo in the Staircase: Gabriel Said became an alternate
conception tale, tying into the mythology around the Cuckoo Bird
and views on Adoption. The Story of the Bed Box Theatre also dealt
with adoption as the theatre represented the unknown for me as
an adoptee. Having the character performing in it instead of waiting
for it to entertain her, was akin to searching actively for information
about genealogical heritage instead of passively waiting for answers
— listed on a government passive registry [Adoption Disclosure Registry].
The Bed
Box Theatre, 1997
Assemblage / 2-sided puppet theatre
(3’8" x 6’5" x 1’2" )
Collection of the artist
© Julie Lapalme |
