The Tulse Luper Suitcases
Encyclopedia
The Tulse Luper Suitcases is a multimedia
project by Peter Greenaway
, initially intended to comprise three "source" and one feature films, a 16-episode TV series, and 92 DVDs, as well as Web sites, CD-ROMs and books. Once the online Web-based portion of the project was completed: the "winner" having taken a trip following Tulse Luper
's travels (and often imprisonment) during his first writings about the discovery of uranium
in Moab, Utah
in 1928 to his mysterious disappearance at the fall of the Berlin Wall
in 1989.
Two books and three feature films were released to supply material to the Flash/Web designers who competed in a contest to make one of the 92 Flash-based "suitcase" games featured on the interactive, online site The Tulse Luper Journey.
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story
The Tulse Luper Suitcases,Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish
were released in 2003, although they were shown out of order, with Part 1 shown in 2003, Part 3 in early 2004 and Part 2 in summer 2004. Part 1 was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
.
All three were initially released only on DVDs made in Spain to provide "back-story material" for the designers working on the online site's "suitcases", chosen from submissions in a contest held in 2004. The trilogy was later released as a box set in Australia in 2008. There are also two books, Tulse Luper in Turin and Tulse Luper in Venice, published in 2004, for the same purpose.
In 2005, after the winner of the online game finished a free trip following the travels of Luper
, an additional "final" feature, A Life In Suitcases
(subtitled "The Tulse Luper Journey") was released.
While it was claimed that it would "largely be a condensation of material from the first three films" it is a complete film on its own, based on or an exact duplicate of the film players assemble in the online game. There is also some contention in the related online forums as to whether or not the first "winner" of the game is a real person, and really won a free trip, as was written up in a blog as it progressed.
of uranium as well as a number used by Greenaway in the formal structure of his earlier work (most notably The Falls
). Each suitcase contains an object "to represent the world", which advances or comments upon the story in some way, although in many cases the contents are more metaphorical than real.
92 suitcases
In the exhibition Greenaway brings all the drama of cinema to life through objects, music, video and special effects. The exhibition will feature all 92 suitcases, natural and man-made, packed with amazing special effects and artefacts. A complete multi-media encyclopedia emerges through objects and audiovisual representations of all determining elements of life in the Atomic Age. Each exhibition will be made in a unique way for each museum/country, offering the audience through modern technology a unique peek into Luper's local findings during his travels.
In, São Paulo (videobrasil)
, an actress (Thaís de Almeida Prado) has created a solo especially for the exhibition Tulse Luper Suitcases. The project called "The Sleeping Beauty That..." was composed with a solo , a book performance, a video performance and was occurred in the suitcase number 40.
Tulse Luper is still presumed to be alive somewhere in the world – probably in a prison somewhere.
films. This is most likely because they were meant to provide "source material" and "background story" for the Flash-based "suitcases" and hence are not truly meant to be watched as a film with typical fashion, but more of an audio/video pastiche
.
In many scenes multiple takes, different angles, or identical copies of the same footage are displayed simultaneously within the frame, either superimposed or in discrete "boxes" taking up a small part of the screen. Multiple images are typically offset in time from one another, with a corresponding delay in audio. At times, a written representation of the script also scrolls across the screen as it is performed. The overall effect is similar to that of The Pillow Book
, but because these effects are largely devoted to "narrator"-type characters providing exposition, or primary characters themselves commenting on or responding to the action, the overall effect is more like a visual encyclopedia or a form of interactive media (minus the actual interaction).
The character Tulse Luper
has been featured (though rarely seen) in several of Peter Greenaway's
earlier film works, and in The Tulse Luper Suitcases a substantial portion of Greenaway's
output is briefly presented as if it had been filmed by Luper
. Other connections to previous Greenaway
films include the character Cissie Colpitts, who also appeared in the 1988 feature Drowning By Numbers
and the 1978 short Vertical Features Remake
as well as in The Falls
from the same year. Tulse Luper
, like Greenaway
himself, is a keeper of extensive lists and catalogues, which serve as a sort of prism through which everything is seen. The most notable instance of this in the project is a collection of 1,001 stories which parallel The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
in Arabic literature. The character Martino Knockavelli makes his first appearance here as a plump Italian schoolboy.
project.
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
project by Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
, initially intended to comprise three "source" and one feature films, a 16-episode TV series, and 92 DVDs, as well as Web sites, CD-ROMs and books. Once the online Web-based portion of the project was completed: the "winner" having taken a trip following Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper is a fictional ornithologist, created by film director Peter Greenaway."Born in Newport, Wales in 1911, Luper was, according to Greenaway's introduction to the exhibition catalogue, in Moab, Utah in 1928 when "Uranium was 'discovered' there. He was in Antwerp in 1939 when the Germans...
's travels (and often imprisonment) during his first writings about the discovery of uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
in Moab, Utah
Moab, Utah
Moab is a city in Grand County, in eastern Utah, in the western United States. The population was 4,779 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Grand County. Moab hosts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks...
in 1928 to his mysterious disappearance at the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1989.
Two books and three feature films were released to supply material to the Flash/Web designers who competed in a contest to make one of the 92 Flash-based "suitcase" games featured on the interactive, online site The Tulse Luper Journey.
Films / DVDs
Three films:The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story
The Tulse Luper Suitcases,Part 2: Vaux to the Sea
The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish
were released in 2003, although they were shown out of order, with Part 1 shown in 2003, Part 3 in early 2004 and Part 2 in summer 2004. Part 1 was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival
2003 Cannes Film Festival
The 2003 Cannes Film Festival started on May 14 and ran until May 25. The Palme d'Or went to the American film Elephant by Gus Van Sant.-Jury:* Patrice Chéreau, President * Aishwarya Rai * Meg Ryan * Karin Viard...
.
All three were initially released only on DVDs made in Spain to provide "back-story material" for the designers working on the online site's "suitcases", chosen from submissions in a contest held in 2004. The trilogy was later released as a box set in Australia in 2008. There are also two books, Tulse Luper in Turin and Tulse Luper in Venice, published in 2004, for the same purpose.
In 2005, after the winner of the online game finished a free trip following the travels of Luper
Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper is a fictional ornithologist, created by film director Peter Greenaway."Born in Newport, Wales in 1911, Luper was, according to Greenaway's introduction to the exhibition catalogue, in Moab, Utah in 1928 when "Uranium was 'discovered' there. He was in Antwerp in 1939 when the Germans...
, an additional "final" feature, A Life In Suitcases
(subtitled "The Tulse Luper Journey") was released.
While it was claimed that it would "largely be a condensation of material from the first three films" it is a complete film on its own, based on or an exact duplicate of the film players assemble in the online game. There is also some contention in the related online forums as to whether or not the first "winner" of the game is a real person, and really won a free trip, as was written up in a blog as it progressed.
Structure
The project has been described by Greenaway as "a personal history of uranium" and the "autobiography of a professional prisoner". It is structured around 92 suitcases allegedly belonging to Luper, 92 being the atomic numberAtomic number
In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...
of uranium as well as a number used by Greenaway in the formal structure of his earlier work (most notably The Falls
The Falls
The Falls is a 1980 film directed by Peter Greenaway. It was Greenaway's first feature-length film after many years making shorts. It does not have a traditional dramatic narrative; it takes the form of a mock documentary in 92 short parts.-Plot:...
). Each suitcase contains an object "to represent the world", which advances or comments upon the story in some way, although in many cases the contents are more metaphorical than real.
Tulse Luper Suitcases Exhibition
After successful events in Ghent (Belgium), Compton Verney, Warwickshire (UK), Fort Asperen (Netherlands) and São Paulo (Brazil), the Tulse Luper Suitcases Exhibition will now visit new places in the world in a 3 year tour (2008–2011)92 suitcases
In the exhibition Greenaway brings all the drama of cinema to life through objects, music, video and special effects. The exhibition will feature all 92 suitcases, natural and man-made, packed with amazing special effects and artefacts. A complete multi-media encyclopedia emerges through objects and audiovisual representations of all determining elements of life in the Atomic Age. Each exhibition will be made in a unique way for each museum/country, offering the audience through modern technology a unique peek into Luper's local findings during his travels.
In, São Paulo (videobrasil)
Videobrasil
In 1983, despite the fact that electronic art had just arrived in Brazil, Associação Cultural Videobrasil organized the first edition of what would later become the International Electronic Art Festival, directed by Solange Farkas, gathering a whole generation of Brazilian pioneers...
, an actress (Thaís de Almeida Prado) has created a solo especially for the exhibition Tulse Luper Suitcases. The project called "The Sleeping Beauty That..." was composed with a solo , a book performance, a video performance and was occurred in the suitcase number 40.
The world according to Tulse Luper
Luper was born in 1911 in Newport, South Wales and disappeared into ever more obscure prisons and jails in Russia and the Far East in the 1970s. He would have been 100 in 2011. In the last century, this extraordinary man archived his entire life in 92 suitcases. His life is shrouded in mystery, but it seems that Luper has been present at some of the key historical events of the 20th century, including the first nuclear tests in New Mexico, the 1968 Paris student protests and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Although Luper spent most of his life being a professional prisoner, he still managed to collect a large amount of objects and store them in suitcases. In a way, these suitcases represent the world according to Tulse Luper.Tulse Luper is still presumed to be alive somewhere in the world – probably in a prison somewhere.
Luper’s fascination
As a writer, collector, cataloguer and professional list-maker Luper is fascinated by traces, systems, maps, numbers and artifacts. The exhibition explores the connections between objects, events and ideas, re-peopling the house and bringing the collections and building to life. At the heart of the exhibition is the collection of 92 suitcases that Luper has supposedly abandoned on his travels. Tickling all senses, their content can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted and felt, providing intriguing clues to his existence, his obsessions, the people he has met, and the places he has visited.Style
The visual style of the three feature films is unorthodox, even compared to other GreenawayPeter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
films. This is most likely because they were meant to provide "source material" and "background story" for the Flash-based "suitcases" and hence are not truly meant to be watched as a film with typical fashion, but more of an audio/video pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
.
In many scenes multiple takes, different angles, or identical copies of the same footage are displayed simultaneously within the frame, either superimposed or in discrete "boxes" taking up a small part of the screen. Multiple images are typically offset in time from one another, with a corresponding delay in audio. At times, a written representation of the script also scrolls across the screen as it is performed. The overall effect is similar to that of The Pillow Book
The Pillow Book (film)
The Pillow Book is a 1996 film by United Kingdom director Peter Greenaway, which stars Vivian Wu as Nagiko, a Japanese model in search of pleasure and new cultural experience from various lovers...
, but because these effects are largely devoted to "narrator"-type characters providing exposition, or primary characters themselves commenting on or responding to the action, the overall effect is more like a visual encyclopedia or a form of interactive media (minus the actual interaction).
The character Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper is a fictional ornithologist, created by film director Peter Greenaway."Born in Newport, Wales in 1911, Luper was, according to Greenaway's introduction to the exhibition catalogue, in Moab, Utah in 1928 when "Uranium was 'discovered' there. He was in Antwerp in 1939 when the Germans...
has been featured (though rarely seen) in several of Peter Greenaway's
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
earlier film works, and in The Tulse Luper Suitcases a substantial portion of Greenaway's
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
output is briefly presented as if it had been filmed by Luper
Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper is a fictional ornithologist, created by film director Peter Greenaway."Born in Newport, Wales in 1911, Luper was, according to Greenaway's introduction to the exhibition catalogue, in Moab, Utah in 1928 when "Uranium was 'discovered' there. He was in Antwerp in 1939 when the Germans...
. Other connections to previous Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
films include the character Cissie Colpitts, who also appeared in the 1988 feature Drowning By Numbers
Drowning by Numbers
Drowning by Numbers is a 1988 British film directed by Peter Greenaway. It was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:The film's plot centers on three women — a grandmother, mother and daughter — each named Cissie Colpitts. As the story progresses each woman successively drowns her husband...
and the 1978 short Vertical Features Remake
Vertical Features Remake
Vertical Features Remake is a film by Peter Greenaway. It portrays the work of a fictional Institute of Reclamation and Restoration as they attempt to assemble raw footage taken by ornithologist Tulse Luper into a short film, in accordance with his notes and structuralist film theory...
as well as in The Falls
The Falls
The Falls is a 1980 film directed by Peter Greenaway. It was Greenaway's first feature-length film after many years making shorts. It does not have a traditional dramatic narrative; it takes the form of a mock documentary in 92 short parts.-Plot:...
from the same year. Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper
Tulse Luper is a fictional ornithologist, created by film director Peter Greenaway."Born in Newport, Wales in 1911, Luper was, according to Greenaway's introduction to the exhibition catalogue, in Moab, Utah in 1928 when "Uranium was 'discovered' there. He was in Antwerp in 1939 when the Germans...
, like Greenaway
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
himself, is a keeper of extensive lists and catalogues, which serve as a sort of prism through which everything is seen. The most notable instance of this in the project is a collection of 1,001 stories which parallel The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
in Arabic literature. The character Martino Knockavelli makes his first appearance here as a plump Italian schoolboy.
Analysis
An entire issue of the online journal Image and Narrative: The Online Magazine of the Visual Narrative, Issue #12 (ISSN 1780-678X) is dedicated to study, analyze, deconstruct, and explain Greenaway'sPeter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...
project.
External links
- www.petergreenaway.info
- Official Site
- TTLS page at Wayne's Peter Greenaway website
- The Tulse Luper Journey – A massive internet game to coincide with the whole Tulse Luper project. Players are required to assemble a 92 minute movie from "layers" obtained by completing short puzzles/games, each which then open one of 92 suitcases containing a piece of the 92 minute movie.