PROJECT
Painted Desert
Commissioned by the Mesa Arts Center in
Arizona, the Painted Desert series grew out of
a conceptual art project combining photography,
costume design and immersive theater.
Photography by Scott London
Performances by the Vessel Project
The Painted Desert series grew out of a conceptual art project combining photography, costume design and immersive theater. Working with the Vessel Project, a Phoenix-based theater ensemble, I created a series of photographs of elaborately costumed figures set against the badlands of the Painted Desert.
The images were presented as part of a series of “atmospheric” performances in front of live audiences at a number of venues in Arizona, including the Spark Festival in Mesa, the Public Art Program in Glendale, and the Phoenix Art Museum.
When we presented the piece at the Mesa Arts Center—which had commissioned the project—the entire complex became a moving art gallery of sorts, with pictures flowing across walls, ceilings, floors, and even people in the audience. The Vessel performers themselves became living screens for the images from the Painted Desert.
As a photographer, I have shown my images in a variety of formats and venues over the years, including magazines, gallery shows, books and film. But this was the first time I had used still photography as part of an interactive performance piece.
The project was covered by the Phoenix news media and even garnered some attention from the academic community. It was described in Louis E. Catron and Scott Shattuck’s book, The Director’s Vision: Play Direction from Analysis to Production as well the scholarly journal Theatre Topics (see Four Principles about Site-Specific Theatre: A Conversation on Architecture, Bodies, and Presence).
The Vessel Project was founded in 1995 by Rachel Bowditch, a respected performance artist and theater director who teaches at Arizona State University. To find out more about her work, check out the Vessel Project or visit her website, rachelbowditch.com.
