This publication follows Alexandre Singh’s project The Humans, hosted by Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art from 2012 to 2013.

'Its title derived from the French word causer, meaning to chat or talk informally, Alexandre Singh: Causeries details a series of encounters between artist Alexandre Singh (France, 1980) and various academics, writers, scientists and philosophers. In residency at Witte de With, Rotterdam, in preparation for his ambitious play The Humans, Singh set up a public discussion series exploring the key themes and concerns of his developing play, such as dance, drama and religion (to name just a few).

Aiming at an alternative form of public conversations over the course of nine months, Singh engaged the invited speakers in deliberately informal conversations on such wide-ranging topics as Woody Allen, Hindu cosmogony, Aristophanes, South Park and scatology to contribute to the research behind his play The Humans. How have power, prostitution, and performance techniques influenced theatrical costumes? What does mankind make of mountains? How does an individual’s voice reflect a society’s? In making these sessions open to the public, audiences were given the opportunity to participate and obtain an incredible insight into a part of the artistic process typically hidden from view.

With introductions by Witte de With Director Defne Ayas and Alexandre Singh, the edited selection of twenty-nine conversations collected in Causeries re-frame those chats as discursive investigations into the nature of creation, influence, and existence.' - from the publisher

Access level

Onsite

Location code
MON.SIA5
Language

English

Publication/Creation date

2016

No of pages

348

ISBN / ISSN

9789491435461

No of copies

1

Content type

artist monograph

Chapter headings

Index

Introduction by Defne Ayas

Introduction by Alexandre Singh

On the subject of CREATION: Cosmology / Spontaneous Generation / Primitive Man / Hindu Cosmogony / The Old Testament / Cosmogony in Ancient Greece

On the subject of PICTORIAL SATIRE: William Hogarth / Honore Daumier / South Park

On the subject of THEATRICAL COSTUMES: Commedia dell'arte / Shakespeare & the Elizabethan Era / Kabuki

On the subject of ARISTOTHANES: Athenian Society / The Frogs & Thesmophoriazurae / Staging & Costuming / The Wasps & The Clouds

On the subject of LITERARY SATIRE: Alexander Pope / P.G. Wodehouse

On the subject of THE VOICE AND THE CHORUS SATIRE: The Greek Chorus / Nietzsche & Music / The History of Opera

On the subject of WOODY ALLEN: ...and Classical Drama / ...and Morality / ...and Art & Philosophy

On the subject of SCATOLOGY: Freudian Psychoanalysis / Shit & Civilization

Causeries: Alexandre Singh
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Causeries