BOREDOM!!! (as an amplifier), was recently featured in a NY Times article by Claudia La Rocco. The article is about PERFORMA and the blurring of various forms in performance work being created these days.
I found the article to be a great read and was happy that Claudia used recent New York dance performances as examples of this blurring and challenging between various mediums.
Although PERFORMA features dance performances and dance related happenings, including a number of events surrounding/exploring the influence of Judson Dance Theater, the New York dance scene was largely disregarded by the curatorial team. This is a disappointing move especially considering that PERFORMA director, RoseLee Goldberg, states that PERFORMA is trying “to open the doors and windows between the dance and art world, to find the conceptual underpinnings where there could be a crossover.” She continues to ask “How come this conversation was so profound and rich in the ’60s and ’70s?” “Can we reinstigate that?” I would challenge her that this crossover is happening and very active right now. But if RoseLee hopes to open doors between these worlds, I wonder aloud how this is going to happen when a large and active scene of dance artists based in the same city as PERFORMA is pretty much ignored…
The Kitchen’s executive director and chief curator, Debra Singer, seems to also think this crossover between the dance and visual art worlds is lacking. She is quoted in the NY Times article as saying “There seems to be little time spent either studying or taking in things that might be just to the left or the right of your primary interest,” “In New York, we’re so blessed with so much that you can indulge your primary passion.” “At the artist and audience level, almost ironically, it can perpetuate a kind of parochialism.”
I would love to see more of a crossover between the two forms in regards to economy.
But as far as artists being interested and collaborating I think that is alive and active.
I drafted a short list of recent New York performances/collaborations where this blurring/collaboration has been fertile.
Luciana Achugar collaborating with Michael Mahalchick
Maria Hassabi collaborating with Marcos Rosales, Scott Lyall and THREEasFOUR
Ei Arakawa working with students from the Martha Graham School
robbinschilds (Sonya Robbins and Layla Childs) collaborating A.L. Steiner
Dean Moss collaborating with Laylah Ali
RoseAnne Spradlin collaborating with Glen Fogel
Miguel Gutierrez collaborating with Christoph Draeger
The collaborations between Chris Peck and Charles Atlas
The work of Fritz Welch
The work of Julie Tolentino
The work of Jillian Pena
The work of lower lights collective and it’s individual artists (Matt Bauder , Aki Sasamoto, Lily Skove, Kate Ten Eyck, Dan St. Clair, and Arturo Vidich)
The collaborations between Okkyung Lee and Andrew Lampert
Sam Kim’s recent show had visual artists as performers.
The work of Sarah Michelson
Trajal Harrell collaboration with assume vivid astro focus
The work of Eagle Ager
The work of Vlatka Horvat
The work of lucky dragons
Noémie Lafrance video for Feist
The work of Julia Mandle
Melinda Ring collaborations with Martin Kersels
The work of Claude Wampler
The work of the New Humans
The work of Michael Portnoy
This is an incomplete list.
It seems to me that the real door that needs to open is the conversation between artists and curators.
And to famously quote Timothy Leary from the 60’s maybe curators need to “Turn on, tune in, …..”
