WESTERN FRONT – Tom's Peep Show

Description:

Tom’s Peep Show was a multidisciplinary solo performance by Tom Graff that combined operatic vocal performance and puppetry in a handbuilt baroque set. The audience was seated along either side of the Grand Luxe Hall, while the central section of the room was demarcated by floor-to-ceiling curtains. Graff designed the set to simulate a life-size peep show, turning the audience into voyeurs.

Tom’s Peep Show presented a live, simulated taping of a television program, with the director giving notes from the booth. Graff performed according to these pre-recorded soundtracks, which outlined instructions in operatic singing demonstrated through a series of arias from Madama Butterfly and Pagliacci. A Punch and Judy show was inserted between each main operatic peep show section.

Graff staged two evening performances of Tom’s Peep Show.

Video documentation available upon request.

A tarp runway is layed on the ground with various objects on top of it. Six curtains flow down from the ceiling, three on either side of the tarp. The background features an audience with a camera hoisted on a tripod. Two people crouch down between the curtains. There are four banners that loom over this set. This image is in black and white.

A man crouches on a tarp runway and in front of him are various objects. Two curtains drape down from the ceiling. The background features an audience and in front of them is a camera hoisted on a tripod. The image is in black and white.

A man is seated on a tarp runway and he is blindfolded. He is surrounded by several small objects and two baskets on either side. Curtains drape down from the ceiling. There is a curtain with a frame that rests on top of it behind the man. The background features a seated audience. The image is in black and white.

A man is seated on a tarp runway and he is blindfolded. He is surrounded by several small objects and two baskets on either side of him, one with fruits in it. The man holds something in his right hand and has his arm raised. Curtains drape down from the ceiling. There is a curtain with a frame that rests on top of it, adjacent to the man. The background features an audience. The image is in black and white.

A man is seated on a tarp runway. He is surrounded by several small objects and two baskets on either side of him, one of which has fruit spilling out of it. Curtains drape down from the ceiling. There is a curtain with a frame that rests on top of it, adjacent to the man. The background features an audience. The image is in black and white.

There are several objects scattered on a tarp runway, including a basket of spilled fruit, a Noh mask, and an open umbrella. Curtains drape down from the ceiling. There is a curtain with a frame that rests on top of it. The audience shifts their gaze to this curtain with a frame on top of it.

Various objects are arranged on a tarp runway. framed by translucent curtains draping down from the ceiling. Banners and lights loom over this set.

Someone sits with their legs crossed in front of a performance set that includes two stacked CRT televisions that display the same image of a man with a lace muzzle, draped curtains, a tarp runway, and two baskets.

A performer wearing a kimono-like robe is framed by sheer curtains and a banner hung from the ceiling.. They stand with their back to the camera and their long sleeves dramatically billow behind them. The foreground features the back of a man’s head.

A man is seated on a tarp runway and he is blindfolded. He wears a kimono-like robe with peacock feathers extending from the back of the garment. He is surrounded by several small objects and his right arm is extended out in front of them. Curtains drape down from the ceiling. The foreground features a silhouette of an audience-members head. The image is in black and white.

Curtains and a banner hang from the ceiling. There is a tarp runway that rests on the floor. Centred between some of these curtains is a sculpture. In the foreground, a man, seen from behind, holds a microphone with a raised arm.

Captions:

Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.
Tom Graff, Tom’s Peep Show, photo documentation, May 30, 1980.

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.