History of the Pool Noodle

Performance, film and pool noodle

2023-2024

History of the Pool Noodle is a performance created for The Cure [http://the-cure.fr/] curated par Jeff Guess and Judith Perron.

The foam "Pool Noodle" is traditionally red, yellow, blue, green, purple, pink or orange. Both Rick Koster and Steve Bartman claim - simultaneously - to have invented the Pool Noodle in the 80's, an object which embodies the use of polyethylenes, cheap materials that have invaded the planet and contaminated the world. We will explore its uses, from acquagym to team building to amateur do-it-yourself, through a series of "ritual gestures" taken from a selection of the best demo videos from the 80s to today. In order to invent other relationships to the weird things of this world, these emblematic gestures will be reactivated during a collective trance-performance assisted by the incongruous "pool fry".

Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024
Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024
Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024
Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024
Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024
Hervé Véronese, Centre Pompidou, 2024

Diffusion

Hors pistes Festival, Le sport en spectacle, Sunday 28 January 2024 At 3pm on level 1 of the Centre Pompidou.

The Cure proposes, WOW, an intense week during which the Ygrec-ENSAPC art center is transformed into a fitness club. The exhibition, a site of production, reflection and well-being, is open to the public from Tuesday, January 17 to Saturday, January 21 from 2pm to 7pm.