ABOUT THE ENIGMA OF MARIE TAGLIONI (1982–2000)

 

The Enigma of Marie Taglioni was based loosely on an inscription on the lid of Joseph Cornell’s Taglioni’s Jewel Casket, 1940. The story tells how Taglioni, a nineteenth century ballerina, was accosted by a Russian highwayman and made to dance on a panther's skin spread over the snow beneath the stars. Obsessed by this amorous encounter, in later life Taglioni evoked the memory of that fated night by placing a small piece of ice in her jewel casket where, melting among the real gems, the atmosphere of that ice-clad landscape was evocatively recreated.

 

The Enigma of Marie Taglioni recreates that night by using the atmospheric conditions on the centenary of her demise to structure a performance by two machines: the Highwayman and Taglioni herself. The Highwayman, the aggressor made of steel and salt, was reminiscent of a fairground machine used to measure a man’s strength. His sole purpose was to flick salt tablets in the direction of Taglioni; she, a latent soul, was activated on receiving a tablet. Taglioni then converted this salt into pure oxygen by electrolysis of the saline in her stomach, which in turn sustained three oysters. The action of converting the Highwayman’s salt into oxygen to feed her passion in the form of oysters is the climax of the work. See Transcript of Unrequited Euphoria