Tableau Vivant Creations
Tableau Vivant – “Ned Kelly and Maria Bonita” by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias – at Geoffrey’s Art Studio in Nedlands, Perth, Australia, October 2021
Tableau Vivant for Halloween 2021 – Ned Kelly and Maria Bonita are the
iconic outlaw hero and heroine of Australia and Brazil respectively.
Both Ned and Maria are part of the “Robin Hood” mythologies of their
nations – rebellious characters who stole from the wealthy while
returning to the poor. Both were ultimately captured and put to death
for their crimes. Since then, their reputations have grown to become
cultural icons, their legends meshed into the fabric of national identity.
Ned Kelly was the most notorious of the great bushrangers. After
shooting dead three policemen who were hunting him, Kelly eluded police
for two years, with the support of an extensive network of sympathisers.
Famously, he wore a suit of bulletproof armour during his final battle
with police in 1880. He died at the gallows at the age of 25 – asked if
he had any last words, he responded simply; “such is life”.
In 1930, 29-year-old Maria Bonita dared to leave her husband to become
the partner of Lampiao – Brazil’s Ned Kelly – being the first woman to
join his gang. She was not afraid of being unconventional and was
determined to live out her wildest dreams. Lampiao and Maria Bonita
defied the police together for eight years, leading a gang of 100
people, until both were captured and killed in 1938.
In this Tableau Vivant, Ned’s pistols have been substituted with the
artistic tools used the create the backdrop to the scene – a
battery-drill and a spray gun. Maria’s ammunition belts are filled not
with bullets but with the crayons used to detail the set. The background
to the Tableau is inspired by the 1945 painting “Kelly in the Bush” by
Sidney Nolan.
Tableau Vivant – “Maria” from “Metropolis” film by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias – at Geoffrey’s Art Studio in Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia, October 2020.
Tableau Vivant for Halloween, after Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent film masterpiece “Metropolis” – written by Thea von Harbou and starring Brigitte Helm. The film’s story revolves around a woman named Maria, leader of the workers in the underground city, who is captured by the scientist Rotwang in order to unleash an evil robot that he transforms into her image. Metropolis was not well received on its initial release, and was subsequently almost lost in its original form due to heavy editing and censorship, only being fully restored to its premiere cut in 2010. Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. Tableau Vivant by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias.
Tableau Vivant – Frida Kahlo “Broken Column” by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias – Pinnacles Desert, Nambung, Western Australia, October 2019.
Tableau Vivant for Halloween after Frida Kahlo’s “The Broken Column” (La Columna Rota) painting from 1944. Frida was a Mexican surrealist artist famed for the unflinching honesty of her autobiographical self-portraits. Her work depicts a woman’s perspective on her own body, personal suffering, femininity and national identity.
Tableau Vivant – Joan of Arc – by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias – Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth, Western Australia, October 2018.
Tableau vivant for Halloween… Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) was burned at the stake in 1431 for the heresy of talking directly with God and dressing and fighting as a man. Jeanne was one of thousands of people (mainly women) burned as witches in medieval times.
Tableau Vivant – Frankenstein, by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman & Juliana Areias – Geoffrey’s Art Studio, Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia, October 2017.
Tableau Vivant – Magritte Leap after Golconda (Rene Magritte) – by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman – Blackwall Reach, Bicton, Perth, Western Australia, March 2013.
The Lovers – Magritte Kiss by Rene Magritte. Juliana Areias and Geoffrey Drake-Brockman at MoMa, Museum of Modern Art, New York , USA, March 2018.
Frida Kahlo & Rene Magritte surreal presence in a burlesque night… (Frida Kahlo e Rene Magritte “baixaram” surreal-sorrateiramente na noite burlesca…) by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman and Juliana Areias, Blazing Swan Burlesque Party, Perth, December 2018.
“Magritte jumps into the sea
of Aphrodite, petite mort
Joan of Arc
kisses Da Vinci
tableaux vivants d’amour”
This is a translation from Portuguese of the last verse of the song “Belas Artes” ( Fine Arts) composed by Doug de Vries and Juliana Areias. The song is dedicated to Juliana’s love, Australian Cybernets Artist Geoffrey Drake-Brockman. It talks about how Juliana sees Geoffrey’s artwork creations and inspirations. It is also about their love story and things they love doing together such as creating tableaux vivants.
Full Lyrics in Portuguese with English translation of the song “Belas Artes” (Fine Arts) by Doug de Vries and Juliana Areias, dedicated to Geoffrey Drake-Brockman.
Tableau Vivant
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Tableau Vivant Art 