Framed poster
With the frame already on, this framed praying mantis poster arrives ready for a nail: a praying mantis facing forward, lime-green jacket and matte silver chain, holding your gaze against a plain background. This is Bruno, a sound engineer from Marseille, from my Animal Kinhood series.
Mantis religiosa
Good sound is invisible. If the audience notices me, something's gone wrong.
Meadows, Mediterranean scrubland, field edges and sunny peri-urban zones from southern Europe to northern Africa and western Asia; successfully introduced to North America since 1899.
In Marseille's venues he works the same way. The sound check starts and Bruno stays still, not moving anything, while the band asks if he's ready. He's not listening to the band or the mic: he's listening to the room. And only once he understands it does he touch anything, all at once, and the space comes alive. Stillness isn't his weak point; it's the tool. He'd rather have his work valued than be told he's a nice guy.
Framed, the presence is just right: when someone walks in, the first thing they do is look at it. Here he is facing forward, against a plain background, with nothing around him: the triangular head, the large eyes, the lime jacket and the silver chain. A fact about the species, outside the image: the mantis can turn its head almost all the way around and look back over its shoulder, unusual for an insect. It looks good in an entryway or a hallway you pass through.
