Stairs 1 Geneva
Encyclopedia
Stairs 1 Geneva is a film by Peter Greenaway
. It is also a large-scale art installation, an exhibition, a catalogue and a CD
album.
, Switzerland. In 1994, over a period of one hundred days, one hundred white wooden staircases were installed around the city to be climbed by the public. At the top of each staircase was a simple hole framing a "living picture postcard", a perfect "cinema-image by Peter Greenaway
" accompanied by a commentary of one sentence in French and English, printed below the viewfinder. Greenaway's idea was to create a reflection on location in cinema and to "take films out of the theatres".http://www.filmfestivalen.se/1994/Stairsone.html
s of different colors were installed throughout the city. The event was called "The Stairs: Geneva The Location", and was expanded into a wider project including other cities and other cinematic themes of relaxation. The events were also published in a catalogue form and a musical compact disc (Merrell, March 1995).
and his fellows reformers, different spirits of the lake, Laura Ashley
with her bicycle, living statues, etc.), were sited within the framed view of the staircases' viewfinders. They all were specially trained to perform a choreography (by Serge Campardonhttp://www.compagnienomades.com) every 15 minutes. Each performer was given a luxury Genevean watch to check the time throughout the five or more hours of their performance.
An exhibition was also set in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mahg/musee/mah/mah.html where lights and slide projections supplemented a display of one hundred sculpted heads found and chosen in the museum depot, as well as one hundred historical helmets.
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
. It is also a large-scale art installation, an exhibition, a catalogue and a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
album.
The film
The film comprises one hundred sequences showing a location in the city of GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland. In 1994, over a period of one hundred days, one hundred white wooden staircases were installed around the city to be climbed by the public. At the top of each staircase was a simple hole framing a "living picture postcard", a perfect "cinema-image by Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
" accompanied by a commentary of one sentence in French and English, printed below the viewfinder. Greenaway's idea was to create a reflection on location in cinema and to "take films out of the theatres".http://www.filmfestivalen.se/1994/Stairsone.html
The event
SpotlightSearchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s of different colors were installed throughout the city. The event was called "The Stairs: Geneva The Location", and was expanded into a wider project including other cities and other cinematic themes of relaxation. The events were also published in a catalogue form and a musical compact disc (Merrell, March 1995).
The installation
Approximately one hundred performers representing typical regional characters, with costumes and props, (CalvinJohn Calvin
John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530...
and his fellows reformers, different spirits of the lake, Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She became a household name on the strength of her work as a designer and manufacturer of a range of colourful fabrics for clothes and home furnishings....
with her bicycle, living statues, etc.), were sited within the framed view of the staircases' viewfinders. They all were specially trained to perform a choreography (by Serge Campardonhttp://www.compagnienomades.com) every 15 minutes. Each performer was given a luxury Genevean watch to check the time throughout the five or more hours of their performance.
Further details
The film's scenes show day or night views in the exact frame defined by the staircase's viewfinder. Superimposed images make some of the characters of the installation appear and disappear in the frame under different lights, and are linked with different kind of local events, such as a cycle race or a children's choir on the cathedral steps. The voice-over patiently helps the visual description by numbering the scenes by the same number of each staircase, and reading the sentence printed on the viewfinder. Each scene is accompanied by a one minute music pattern by Patrick Mimran,http://www.mimran.com/. The soundtrack CD which accompanies the project suggests each piece can be played randomly, just as a visitor could visit the staircases in any order.An exhibition was also set in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire (Geneva)
The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire is the largest art museum in Geneva, Switzerland.-The building:The museum is located in Les Tranchées, in the city centre, on the site of the former fortification ring. It was built by the architect Marc Camoletti between 1903 and 1910, and financed by a bequest from...
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mahg/musee/mah/mah.html where lights and slide projections supplemented a display of one hundred sculpted heads found and chosen in the museum depot, as well as one hundred historical helmets.