"Fête, galante et volupté" was an installation/durational performance piece at The Lawn, based on the fête galante painting genre. A set of 3 models idly lounged on and around sculptural elements while soaked, watercolor papers dried and molded to their poses. The servers performed tasks in 10-minute increments that emphasized undertones of object v action, luxury v labor, noun v verb, and even life v death. Attendees were invited to sit within the scene - eat, drink, chat, play, or observe - throughout the 2-hour duration.

Photos by Sarah Elizabeth Larson

the resting are the luxury
without agency
as powerful or powerless?
stillness = death
death, mocking life (ha ha)
attracting flies, looking pretty
in/outward
to implicate THEM more
resting rate / wealth
pile, hoard
nouning or verbing?
object
WAIT!
feeling time
weight
status sits

the labor is the living
with urgency
in service of or of service?
life = movement
time for
n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ending to do lists
in/outcome
but be a helper
$200 W.A.G.E.
capitalist and anti-capitalism
still verbs
waiters waiting
ACTION!
moving bodies
at varying speeds
productivity above all