Living statues come to life
Standing still is harder than it looks
Being a street performer requires a tough psyche. Put a collection hat out and hope that passer-byes enjoy the act enough to throw in a dollar or two. And the talent of such entertainers, whether sax player, jugglers, or bucket drummers, is often questionable. But then there’s the ‘living statues.’ These are the bronzed figures on a pedestal who appear to be ordinary inanimate landmarks – until they suddenly extend a gilded hand or proffer a flower. Such mannequin-like portrayals actually require strong physical and mental discipline, said Joe Pari, co-founder of TEN31 Productions, Inc., a Pawtucket, R.I. based performance art company. Pari, a street artist himself, spoke to Globe correspondent Cindy Atoji Keene about how he went from a depicting a stone gargoyle to running a production business with over 50 entertainers.
“My first experience with being a living statue was portraying a gargoyle in Providence at the waterfront. It’s a very convincing creature that looks like it’s made out of weathered stone; crowds stand around me and stare, while children think I’m real. It’s fun and magical but also very hard work: the fiberglass wings are heavy; the costume is hot; there’s layers of makeup; and I stand still for hours without moving. Standing motionless is much harder than it might seem – it takes a lot of control and concentration. When I do move, it’s in super slow motion; I might freeze, hold a dynamic pose, then onto another movement. It tells a story and allows the viewer to be transported to another time or place, all mostly through silence. In our frantic crazy world, it’s cool to give people pause and draw them in.
“TEN31 Productions grew from such individual performances to now having an array of living statue depictions, ranging from John Harvard, robots, wind-up toys, vintage tennis players, and marble gods and goddess. We recently got back from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia where we displayed a living statue installation at two different delegate parties. At the performing arts center, our live topiary and trees bemused and entertained; our girls moved with the grace of dancers and were inside urns with flowers all around them. At the art museum, a tableau vivant recreated a Picasso painting of the three musicians; performers held static poses reminiscent of this famous artwork. Living statues aren’t just buskers at the street corners and marketplaces anymore; they provide a novelty spectacle at corporate events, weddings and parties.
“Our ideas are conceptualized and fabricated in our studio, but I never lose sight of my love of make-believe. One of the most special moments for me when I was at Faneuil Hall posing as a gargoyle. Everyone was standing around me taking pictures; suddenly I felt a weird weight on the side of one of my gargoyle wings. I turned my head ever so slowly and realized that a pigeon had landed on me. That was an amazing moment, because it truly was like I was a statue brought to life.”
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