The Reading
While working with the Tarot painting series, I reached an impasse. I wanted the court cards, king, queen, knight and page; to refer to character types and personality characteristics. But I didn’t want them to be very gendered. I also wanted to avoid using only certain body types. So, I decided to work with performance artists so that I could use their gestures and movements through space to represent the ideas for each card.
I read descriptions of the characters identified with each card. In a series of collaborative exercises, the performers improvised movements exploring the words. I videotaped and sketched as they moved through the space. Eventually, we formalized the choreography and presented it as a performance at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and at The Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA.
Later these videos and drawings would become the basis for the sixteen court card paintings.
I began by reading the interpretations of various tarot cards to the artists. Their improvised movements in response to those prompts was the starting place for my paintings. As the artists moved, I drew their movements and their interactions in space. I also videotaped the sessions so I could refer to the actions back in my studio.
Each performer choreographed a section of the performance based on my verbal prompts.
Together we developed a work called "The Reading". In this piece,
I narrated, drew cards, and circled the performers while drawing in my sketchbook.
"The Reading" is a collaboration between eleven artists from many varied backgrounds. It is inspired by, and is an extension of, Caroline's work using Tarot Cards. And, it is an expression of her longtime dedication to art collaboration.
Composer for The Reading, Raquel Kober
The Reading (video)
This piece was created within the Intersections: Inspiring Influences collaboration project. The overall project was conceived by Kelsey Trottier to bring visual artists, dancers, writers, musicians and performers together. "The Reading" was one of three collaborations created for this project.
Collaborators for "The Reading": Caroline Rufo,
Raquel Kober (cello, composer), Sara Marhamo, Rachel, Emily Jawadekar, Shayne Jones, Iman R. Louis-Jeune, Gyorgy A. Porkolab, Jessie Hansen,
Ethan Pravetz, and Alice Rufo.