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| Painting by William McClure |
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| Collection by Pierre Le Tan, sold at Sotheby's |
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| Tableau by Sean Anderson |
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| Elevator landing at Kips Bay Showhouse NYC, 2023 |
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| Tableau by JF Chen |
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| Tableau by Anna Spiro Design |
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| Tableau by India Hicks |
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| Tableau by John Derian |
Showing posts with label tableaux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tableaux. Show all posts
Thursday, July 9, 2026
BEAUTY: Tableaux
As an interior designer, artist, and maximalist, I truly appreciate a good tablescape or tableau. I love gazing at fascinating sculptures, natural objects, treasured personal mementoes, antiques with a story, handmade creations of beauty ... collected and displayed in a way that allows these elements to play off one another, to provide harmony or contrast.
Sunday, August 15, 2021
"Staging Silence" by Hans Op de Beeck
The series of films artist Hans Op de Beeck calls Staging Silence are miracles of illusion. Charming miniature scenes are built in real time as the viewer watches...I respond strongly to this idea and the imagery since I did this as a child. I studiously built houses and interiors and sets out of cardboard boxes and household objects standing in for furniture and furnishings. Each one of these films is hypnotizing in its pace and seamlessness. It is nearly a meditative experience. Enjoy.
Staging Silence
Staging Silence
'Staging Silence' is based on abstract, archetypal settings that lingered in the memory of the artist as the common denominator of the many similar public places he has experienced. The presented video images are both ridiculous and serious, much like the eclectic mix of pictures in our minds. The decision to film in black and white emphasises this ambiguity: the amateurish quality of the video evokes the legacy of slapstick as well as the insidious suspense and latent derailment of the film noir. The title refers to the staging of such dormant decors onto which the spectator, in the absence of other figures, can project himself as the lone protagonist.
Remembered images are disproportionate mixtures of concrete information and fantasy, and in this film they materialise before the spectator's eyes by means of anonymous tinkering actions and improvising hands. Arms appear and disappear at random, manipulating banal objects, scale representations and artificial lighting to create alienating yet recognizable locations. These places are nothing more than animated decors for possible stories, evocative visual propositions, to be experienced by the spectator. The film is accompanied by a score inspired by the images, composed and performed by composer-musician Serge Lacroix.
Staging Silence (2)
The presence of the theatre is directly invoked in the work 'Staging Silence (2)'. Shown as a 'black box' video installation, the monochrome footage depicts a small stage on which scenarios involving everyday household objects, foodstuffs and constructions are played out to a soundtrack by the Ambient composer Scanner. Hands appear in the margins of the screen, in the manner of a shadow play or puppet-show, to roll out the landscape like a carpet; water is poured and becomes a shimmering sea, whose gentle waves are raised with long black sticks. An island is fashioned in its midst, made from half-peeled potatoes and a bonsai tree, whilst a boat is fastened to a pontoon. We can observe every gesture, and each subterfuge is revealed as the scenes unfold. The more the artist reveals his sleight-of-hand, his artifice, the further it chimes with our imagination, and the more we are willing to suspend our disbelief, the most fundamental aspect that defines narrative. It challenges our predilection for present-day spectacles boasting seamless special effects, in which artifice and reality are indistinguishable.
In the final sequence, a vast city emerges, built painstakingly from stacked cubes of sugar. Then, black rain falls, administered by watering cans, which coats the buildings in their entirety and causes them to saturate and slowly melt and crumble into ruins.
The artist is cast in the role of omnipotent world-maker, though we are always aware of the Lilliputian dimensions of his creations, bestowing an air of charm and modesty to his magic box theatre.
Staging Silence (3)
‘Staging Silence (3)’ is the third and final installment in a series of autonomous art films, all realised according to the same principles. In the three films, two pairs of anonymous hands construct and deconstruct fictional interiors and landscapes on a mini film set of just three square meters in size.
This film takes the viewer on a visual journey through depopulated, enigmatic and often melancholic, but nonetheless playful, small-scaled places, which are built up and taken down before the eye of the camera.
The two pairs of anonymous hands, like a double Deus ex Machina of sorts, decide on the life and death, growth and blossoming or decay of the places that are conjured up. The landscapes and interiors are teaming with cultural and subcultural references, including historical as well as current themes that refer to the way in which man - both in his dealings with architecture and with nature — 'humanises' the open space in an attempt to create meaning, identity and a logical interaction with time. For the first time in the series, this film also includes clear references to the life-size sculptures and immersive installations of Op de Beeck’s oeuvre.
https://hansopdebeeck.com/works
Remembered images are disproportionate mixtures of concrete information and fantasy, and in this film they materialise before the spectator's eyes by means of anonymous tinkering actions and improvising hands. Arms appear and disappear at random, manipulating banal objects, scale representations and artificial lighting to create alienating yet recognizable locations. These places are nothing more than animated decors for possible stories, evocative visual propositions, to be experienced by the spectator. The film is accompanied by a score inspired by the images, composed and performed by composer-musician Serge Lacroix.
Staging Silence (2)
The presence of the theatre is directly invoked in the work 'Staging Silence (2)'. Shown as a 'black box' video installation, the monochrome footage depicts a small stage on which scenarios involving everyday household objects, foodstuffs and constructions are played out to a soundtrack by the Ambient composer Scanner. Hands appear in the margins of the screen, in the manner of a shadow play or puppet-show, to roll out the landscape like a carpet; water is poured and becomes a shimmering sea, whose gentle waves are raised with long black sticks. An island is fashioned in its midst, made from half-peeled potatoes and a bonsai tree, whilst a boat is fastened to a pontoon. We can observe every gesture, and each subterfuge is revealed as the scenes unfold. The more the artist reveals his sleight-of-hand, his artifice, the further it chimes with our imagination, and the more we are willing to suspend our disbelief, the most fundamental aspect that defines narrative. It challenges our predilection for present-day spectacles boasting seamless special effects, in which artifice and reality are indistinguishable.
In the final sequence, a vast city emerges, built painstakingly from stacked cubes of sugar. Then, black rain falls, administered by watering cans, which coats the buildings in their entirety and causes them to saturate and slowly melt and crumble into ruins.
The artist is cast in the role of omnipotent world-maker, though we are always aware of the Lilliputian dimensions of his creations, bestowing an air of charm and modesty to his magic box theatre.
Staging Silence (3)
‘Staging Silence (3)’ is the third and final installment in a series of autonomous art films, all realised according to the same principles. In the three films, two pairs of anonymous hands construct and deconstruct fictional interiors and landscapes on a mini film set of just three square meters in size.
This film takes the viewer on a visual journey through depopulated, enigmatic and often melancholic, but nonetheless playful, small-scaled places, which are built up and taken down before the eye of the camera.
The two pairs of anonymous hands, like a double Deus ex Machina of sorts, decide on the life and death, growth and blossoming or decay of the places that are conjured up. The landscapes and interiors are teaming with cultural and subcultural references, including historical as well as current themes that refer to the way in which man - both in his dealings with architecture and with nature — 'humanises' the open space in an attempt to create meaning, identity and a logical interaction with time. For the first time in the series, this film also includes clear references to the life-size sculptures and immersive installations of Op de Beeck’s oeuvre.
https://hansopdebeeck.com/works
Friday, September 20, 2013
BEAUTY: Painting--Kevin Sloan
Kevin Sloan's gorgeous allegorical tableau paintings created in an Italianate style are intriguing and, when studied and experienced, really quite moving.
I love these images of birds with knotted orange extensions cords. The juxtaposition between the natural and man-made world is a little disturbing. The cords are impinging and interfering with the natural world and we feel we want to protect the birds from being electrocuted or harmed.
These following beautiful images are produced in a classic allegorical style and illustrate ideas and principles about the human world as well as the animal world... and especially the collision of the two.
And I am especially drawn to--and horrified by--his disaster series of fires, floods, and tornadoes... such a haunting commentary on natural and man-made disasters (climate change) precisely because of the dispassionate presentation and the traditional oval frames usually reserved only for romantic portraits.
Top to bottom: Audubon Trio; Birds of America: Prometheus' Regret; Modern Romance; A Dream About Flying; Consequences of Hypnosis; Disassembling The Past; Our Modern Animal; The Burden of Formality; The Investor; The Preserve; The Fifth Season #2; The Fifth Season #5; The Flood; Tornado
http://kevinsloan.com/
I love these images of birds with knotted orange extensions cords. The juxtaposition between the natural and man-made world is a little disturbing. The cords are impinging and interfering with the natural world and we feel we want to protect the birds from being electrocuted or harmed.
These following beautiful images are produced in a classic allegorical style and illustrate ideas and principles about the human world as well as the animal world... and especially the collision of the two.
And I am especially drawn to--and horrified by--his disaster series of fires, floods, and tornadoes... such a haunting commentary on natural and man-made disasters (climate change) precisely because of the dispassionate presentation and the traditional oval frames usually reserved only for romantic portraits.
Top to bottom: Audubon Trio; Birds of America: Prometheus' Regret; Modern Romance; A Dream About Flying; Consequences of Hypnosis; Disassembling The Past; Our Modern Animal; The Burden of Formality; The Investor; The Preserve; The Fifth Season #2; The Fifth Season #5; The Flood; Tornado
http://kevinsloan.com/
Saturday, July 27, 2013
BEAUTY: Tableaux
The Art of Tableaux continued...
http://www.hillarythomas.com
http://www.laurenadel.com
http://www.carinaolander.se
http://www.carlyledesigns.com
http://www.hillarythomas.com
http://www.laurenadel.com
http://www.carinaolander.se
http://www.carlyledesigns.com
Thursday, October 18, 2012
BEAUTY: Tableaux
The art of tableaux continued...
West Elm
Philpots Interiors
Antonio Martins
Photo by Marili Forastieri
Photo by Marili Forastieri
Tricia Foley
BEAUTY: Tableaux for Autumn
I like the subtlety in this image above: the pumpkin-strewn walkway and willow arch lead to
a barn where the classic 1922 silent horror film "Nosferatu" is being screened!
The shadow of Max Schreck as a vampire is visible through the door.
a barn where the classic 1922 silent horror film "Nosferatu" is being screened!
The shadow of Max Schreck as a vampire is visible through the door.
Monday, April 30, 2012
BEAUTY: Tableaux
I adore tableaux and I love making them. It is a very important part of designing an interior. If you have created a nice space, tableaux are the final layer; they create interest, add color and texture, direct attention, and highlight areas that might otherwise go unnoticed. Without them, a room can feel unfinished or un-lived in. Sometimes I create tableaux here at home when I am feeling down... it makes me feel better!
The art of creating a tableau is part intuitive and part formula. I have written about this art before but in a nutshell: it is about contrast and balance. You want to put smooth next to rough, shiny next to matte, organic next to mad-made, vintage with new. A concentrated collection of like objects creates impact. Flowers or greens are always appropriate. Follow the rule of three. And vary height by using tall, medium, and low objects. If you have something that isn't high enough, but you want to use anyhow, be creative and find something that will work as a pedestal. A stack of hardcover books can add height in such a case. Finally, add one unexpected element. Move things around and play with your composition... because that is exactly what you are doing. You are curating a collection, you are composing a painting, you are making a sculpture.
The art of creating a tableau is part intuitive and part formula. I have written about this art before but in a nutshell: it is about contrast and balance. You want to put smooth next to rough, shiny next to matte, organic next to mad-made, vintage with new. A concentrated collection of like objects creates impact. Flowers or greens are always appropriate. Follow the rule of three. And vary height by using tall, medium, and low objects. If you have something that isn't high enough, but you want to use anyhow, be creative and find something that will work as a pedestal. A stack of hardcover books can add height in such a case. Finally, add one unexpected element. Move things around and play with your composition... because that is exactly what you are doing. You are curating a collection, you are composing a painting, you are making a sculpture.
By Thom Felicia
Photo by Roger Davies
By Gregory Mellor
Photo by David Prince
By Natalie Younger
By Erin Martin
By Jay Jeffers
By Jay Jeffers
By Tobi Fairley
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