Reid Farrington
The Return
2015
Commissioned by The Metropolitan Musuem of Art, New York
CONCEPT
The Return pioneers a dynamic form of storytelling. For this piece, Farrington fuses the strengths of scripted drama with new technology to animate the complex history of Tullio Lombardo’s Adam (on display in the gallery). An actor backstage controls a digital avatar that interacts with visitors in the gallery to enliven episodes in the sculpture’s life, from its commission and meaning in the Renaissance Venice, to its movement across Europe and the Atlantic in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to its damage in 202 and repair over the following years.
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The innovative combination of theater with motion-capture and digital animation allows a single actor to engage with the audience and switch between characters including the biblical figure of Adam, an engineered model of the sculpture that aided its restoration, and the marble sculpture itself.
Wall Street Journal Video
New York Times Video
Created By Reid Farrington
Written By Sara Farrington
Performers: Roger Casey, Cara Francis, Jack Frederick, Catherine Gowl, Gavin Price, Stephanie Regina
​​Concept Development: Frank Boudreaux & R. Eric Bowers
Virtual Puppetry & Performance Design: Athomas Goldberg & Lifelike and Believable Animation Design
Creative Technologist: Todd Bryant
​Sound Design: Juan Aboites
Original Music: David Van Tieghem
​​Digital Set Design: Todd Bryant & R. Eric Bowers
Digital Light Design: Christopher Heilman
​Character Texture & Facial Animation: Jason Wiser. Yaya Play Games
​Character Preparation: Daniel Bohrer
​​Production Manager: Art Domantay
​Set Decoration: Marie Ucci
​Set Fabrication: Gary Dealey, Art Domantay
Motion Capture Handler: Javier Molina
Additional Animation: Ryan Thibeault, Pratik Parija, Joseph Xin
Costume Consulting: Erin Murphy
Costume Constriction: Timberlake Studios
Dramaturgy: Connor Kalista
Production Assistant: David Herman
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The Branch - One Fragment of the story of Adam
