Tati to the Streets: A Democratic Trip

Sunday June 6th
Approximately 7:30pm
Polk Street, the block between Florida and Alabama Streets

A performance by Micki Davis in collaboration with Jessica Sledge and Phillip Skaller (Taking Up Space) and the wonderful North Park inhabitants who completed the sidewalk survey at Art Produce.

Jacques Tati was an actor, director, choreographer and comedic genius. His film Playtime (1964/67) couples with the streets of North Park as inspiration for the performance. Tati's visions of the everyday gesture are enchanting in their subtlety and are imbued with democracy:

"There's no star, no one person is important, everybody is; you are as important as I can be. It's a democracy of gags and comics - the personality of people regarding an architecture that people have decided for us to live in, without asking us whether we agree or not. In the end, we all win in the sense that we still talk to each other; if anything goes wrong, we're still partners, and some small people are still allowed to be important"

- Jacques Tati

An almost literal interpretation of democracy, this performance distills the everyday motions down to one symbolic gesture: the side walk trip. You don't have to know Tati to know these streets but we only hope to channel such a graceful critique.

This performance will take place along the Taking Up Space route which begins at 6:30 pm (map found on the event page).

Resources:

Click the following link to view Playtime by Jacques Tati.

Click the following link to read the entirety of Tati's Democracy: An Interview and Introduction, by Jonathan Rosenbaum. Originally published in Film Comment, May-June 1973