Performance, "The Pageant of the Amuse Bouche"
June 7, 2012

P3 Studio, Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

Performing the Caryatids:
Devin Duitsman
Olivia Jane Huffman
Hillary Price

Three figurative sculptures were built over the course of five weeks at the P3 Studio. The June 7 performance at the end of the residency rounded that number up to six, completing the reference to the Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at Athens (and the number of bachelorettes that can comfortably fit into a Las Vegas taxi cab!) That evening, three “living” sculptures graced the studio with their presence. At three intervals throughout the night the muses (cued by the tossed bouquet) performed as frozen sculptures striking ten- minute poses - voguing Art History, Fashion and the Vegas Showgirl and reading chance poetry composed from visitors’ earlier entries in the Pageant guestbooks. San Francisco-based artist Mark Grothman composed the audio: an abstracted sound piece that sampled my Las Vegas girlfriends’ stories of marriage proposals, bachelorette parties, one-night stands, former showgirl days, heavenly foodie experiences and more, layering the local experience with that of the tourist.

Photo credits: Logan Pochatko, Irene Weber, Ben Garcia