The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, PA reached out to Project Director Mike Durkin to design a living installation event of Henri Matisse's "Bonheur de Vivre" (The Joy of Life) which is housed within the museum. Durkin, always curious about the intersection between hand crafts, story telling, and community, knew he wanted to recreate the sense of Matisse's painting through fiber arts. He contacted local designer/artist Jamie Grace-Duff to coordinate the art making process.

Mike along with his group, The Renegade Company, has created 5 performance works for the Barnes Foundation incorporating the works of Angelo Pinto, Henri Rousseau, 19th Century British Metalwork, Retablos from New Mexico, and Henri Matisse. Renegade returns to Henri Matisse focusing on Le Bonheur De Vivre (The Joy of Life). That Time We Talked About Spaceships While Recreating Matisse’s ‘Le Bonheur De Vivre’ is a participatory live weaving recreation performance. Weavers, dancers, and audience members come together to weave a recreation of Matisse’s famous work. What happens when we give over to joy? What causes us ultimate joy? Through a series of story-sharing knitting circles steeped in folk traditions, Renegade invites audience members inside the process of recreation as well as hear different perspectives on the painting. This will lead to a live assembling of the artwork and dance celebration during the First Sunday event in November. Audience members, performers, and knitters will share space, dance, tell stories, weave together to celebrate the true joy of life.

Our desire is to create an immersive environment for viewers to weave through, touch, lounge, and imagine within the Matisse painting. While not intended to be an exact replica, the colors, shapes, and forms will inform the final landscape which will be created through traditional techniques such as knitting, weaving, crochet, macrame, felting, and rug making.

It is our intention to make this project accessible to all ages and all abilities by providing a wide variety of materials and projects to create a visual terrain as varied as our stories, experiences, and skills.

This project was completed November 3, 2019 and presented at the PECO Free First Sunday Family Day at The Barnes Foundation. If you are interested in possibly installing the finished piece, please contact us. We would love to continue to share The Joy of Life.