Guided tour of the exhibition at N.M.N.M.

 

Variations 
Eugène Frey's Light Set Projections presented by João Maria Gusmão

Variations is an exhibition devoted to the lesser-known art of Light Set projections, a stage design technique established in 1900 in the tradition of shadow theatres and magic lantern shows and developed on the Opéra de Monte-Carlo stage up until the 1930s.

Eugène Frey (Brussels 1864 – Courbevoie 1942) was a painter and an artist whose work has been forgotten by the history of art and stage. In 1900 he invented the technique for “Décors Lumineux à transformations”, a complex system of light projections mixing pictorial, photographic and cinematographic techniques to bring diverse variations of colours, lights and forms to stage scenery, while also integrating moving pictures. He developed this unique process for on the stage of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo from 1904 to 1938.

ith the aim of rediscovering Frey’s prolific work, the NMNM has invited the artist João Maria Gusmão (Lisbon 1979) to reinterpret his Light Set projection technique.

A journey into pre-cinema, the exhibition confronts some of Eugène Frey’s decorative projects with the experimental creations of other inventors from the early 20th century up to the present day: the shadow pieces of Caran d’Ache; the mechanical theatre of master-watchmaker Emmanuel Cottier; the artist Hans-Peter Feldmann’s shadow theatre and Lourdes Castro's performances; the silhouette films created by Lotte Reiniger or Michel Ocelot; the phantasmagorical experiences of Georges Méliès, Alexandre Alexeïeff and Claire Parker as well as those of Jean Hugo; the light choreographies of Loïe Fuller and the installations of Gusmão + Paiva.

 

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PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Thursday June18th, 2020
11:00 AM
N.M.N.M. - Villa Paloma - 56, Boulevard du Jardin Exotique

Only for members