Old As New

ODC Theater Gallery, San Francisco CA. An interpretative installation in conjunction with the Tarantella, Tarantula Production, September 27–October 9 2006

View of the Old As New exhibition in the ODC Theater Gallery Tarantella Oranges Altered Photograph

The exhibition showcased paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations related to the last six years' research into the origins of Tarantella dance and music. The content of the exhibition ranges from factual to interpretive to poetic renderings of this vast subject. This exhibition was not only a stand alone event but a way to prepare the audience for the associated performance.

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Artship Ensemble undertook a research into proportions of the human body as the starting point for move-ment for Tarantella, Tarantula.

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Photo of Catrina Sheen and Tom Franco, in an allusion to Leonardo's Vitruvian Man drawing

Catrina Sheen and Tom Franco, core members. Photograph by Matt Haber. Graphics by Craig Coss

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The text below is verbatim from the exhibition's signage and literature.

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Drawings of the proportions of human bodies from late Renaissance architectural treaties; part of the research for Tarantella, Tarantula.

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Drawings by Nathaniel A. Bolton, made continuously at the incubating and rehearsal process for the Tarantella, Tarantula.

Old map of Italy featuring, lower left, Cave of Sybil of Cuma, near Naples. Top right, Tarantella woman performing her rite.

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An interior of an ancient Egyptian pyramid, possibly related to the architecture of the caves of the Sybil at Cuma.

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Mardi Van Winkle, Proportional Diagram, Tarantella Tarantula

Mardi Van Winkle, core member of Artship Dance/Theater, enacting a Tarantella woman in a proportional diagram. Photograph by Matt Haber. Graphics by Craig Coss

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Athanasius Kircher's map of Apulia, with images of tarantulas and the musical notation of a curative melody. Early 17th century.

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A characteristic dwelling, typical of Apulia, land of Tarantella, called Trulo. Part of the Fano international summer school for the arts run by Slobodan Dan Paich.

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Salvatore Rizzo, a local craftsman and community leader, one of the mentors of Slobodan Dan Paich, using his body as a source of pro-portion for making a basket.

Core members of Artship Dance/Theater, Catrina Sheen and Tom Franco, in the choreographic research, based on the proportions of the body, for Tarantella Tarantula.

Medieval mnemonic method for remembering musical notation, based on the palm of a human hand.

African numerical system using fingers, arms, and the parts of the body for indicating numerical value.

Hand as a simple device for finding one's way at sea, used by mariners in ancient times.

Bas-relief from ancient Rome depicting Tarantella-like dance with clear references to Egyptian deities and the Greek god Dionysius.

A fresco from Pompeii depicting a Tarantella- like healer, watching over a woman resting after an exhausting process of dance therapy.

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Images from Mediterranean cultures, which inspired the movements and gestures in Tarantella, Tarantula.

Photographs by Dennis Letbetter of Artship Dance/Theater core members performing elements of Tarantella, Tarantula at SomArts March 2006.

Two drawings by Augusto Ferriols, a founding member of Artship.

Performers at Lafayette Park in San Francisco with egg-shaped sculptures designed by Slobodan Dan Paich and co-create with Tom Franco. Artship Dance/Theater collaborated with San Francisco Neighborhoods Park Council in creating this performance piece, entitled Coexistence, incorporating early seeds of the Tarantella, Tarantula performance.

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Tom Franco and Catrina Kaupat performing in the tree at Artship Dance/Theater's Coexistence project in Lafayette Park, San Francisco in 2005

Net made by Evelyn Ross for Artship Dance/Theater, here seen in one of the rehearsals used by core members of Artship Dance/Theater.

Photo montage of Tom Franco, executing a movement from the Tarantella, Tarantula in the doorway of one of the ancient buildings in Apulia, the land of Tarantella. Photomontage by Craig Coss

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Three alchemical diagrams, from background research for Tarantella, Tarantula.

Tom Franco against a sculpture of an ancient Greek sunken ship. Photomontage by TheArthur Wright.

Historical representations of dancing women, possibly related to Tarantella, from background research for Tarantella, Tarantula

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Performance of Tarantella Tarantula
Photos by Dennis Letbetter

Artship core members performing an element of Tarantella, Tarantula. Photograph by Matt Haber

Five images which were the generating force in the inception of the Tarantella, Tarantula.

Spring Moon, a retelling of the Persephone myth, by Artship Dance/Theater, for the 2005 reopening of North Beach Pool in San Fran-cisco, enacting elements used in Tarantella, Tarantula.

Four small installations of dried oranges inspired by Tarantella woman preserving and drying fruit, vegetables, insects, and animal parts for their ceremonies of healing, by Slobodan Dan Paich

Series of images from the Ellis Island Collect-ion of Italian Immigrants and associated papers, at the time of the story for Tarantella, Tarantula.