Tiffany MacLean
William Forsythe's Choreographic Objects
For the Contemporary Art History course I am taking this semester we traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Art to view an exhibit by William Forsythe. He is typically a famous dancer and choreographer. However, he also strived to create a space in which a viewer could interact with their surroundings in a different way than their everyday lives. Forsythe’s goal was to have the audience transform into participants and be able to “move freely through the performative exhibition and generate an infinite range of individual choreographies” (Institute of Contemporary Art). The more they engaged with the works, the more successful and meaningful the pieces became. This approach to displaying artwork flipped the preconceived ideas of exhibitions on its head. The audience was transported to a space in which they could play like children again and create connections with strangers.
Due to the lack of traditional art works within the space (paintings, drawings, sculptures), unexpected objects were used to convey movement and reflection within each piece. Gymnastic rings, chalkboards, feather dusters, and audio/video projections were just a few ways in which the participant was taken on a journey through the space. In A Fact of Matter, the participant was to traverse through the room without touching the floor by supporting themselves on the free hanging gymnastic rings. To convey movement as well as cause and effect all movement has, the rings could freely swing and shift as a result of the participant’s presence in the space. Here they goal was to have them reflect upon how their body interacts with the immediate world around them. Each tiny movement they make is exaggerated through the rings. A similar concept was encouraged in Differential Room, where participants followed rules written on chalkboards to interact with their environment in new ways. However, in Towards the Diagnostic Gaze, the viewer was asked to remain as still as they could in order to prevent a feather duster from dancing in the wind. This proved to be a difficult task and highlighted how difficult it could be for anyone to control every single movement their body makes at any given time. Through video and audio combinations, the participant is transformed again to a reflective viewer, one who is encouraged to watch an elaborate piece being created in front of their eyes. This room was, to me, more of a self-reflection. This portion of the exhibit allowed for the commotion and chaos of daily life to be left at the door and the audience to live within the present moment.
This whole exhibit was very intriguing and revolutionary to me. There is a certain stereotype that art exhibits hold where the viewers are expected to remain quiet, to themselves, and have an internal experience with the pieces. However, this exhibit eliminated all of these expectations. Participants were not encouraged but expected to interact with the other people around them. The interactions the participants have add a whole new layer to the pieces themselves. The primary medium Forsythe used was not tangible at all. Rather, it was genuine human interaction through an interactive exhibit. It was fun exhibit that broke the age barriers and the ice between otherwise strangers.
Institute of Contemporary Art. "William Forsythe: Choreographic Objects." IRCAM: Where Boundless Creativity and Innovative Technology Intersect. 2018. Accessed March 04, 2019. https://www.icaboston.org/exhibitions/william-forsythe-choreographic-objects.
Art Building Exhibit as of 3/8/19
The Art Building here on campus is notorious for the exhibits within the small viewing area right inside its doors. During this current exhibit, it is displaying works from current art professors of all concentrations. It holds the ability to combine a handful of artworks, varying in mediums together. There are paintings, sculpture, wall décor, pottery, and textile works. Typically, these mediums would not be incorporated within the same exhibit, unless one artist specialized in each. However, this exhibit is able to do just this.
The exhibit breaks the restraints of a limited medium art show and incorporate many within a small space to celebrate the professors who teach on campus. It is able to highlight their specialties and talents alongside each other, and not give the feeling they are trying to one up the other. Instead, it shows they are trying to complement each in its own way. Paintings are with the textiles, which are with the pottery, and so on. The juxtaposition of the works together provides a unique space to interpret art.
Upon entering the space and immediately looking to the right, three gorgeous paintings are hung on the walls. These are from Professor Debra Marek, who was actually one of my former professors. She has the ability to create photo realistic portrait oil paintings using many layers of color and linseed oil. Her work is meticulous and systematic, while being natural and believable. On the left of her work there is a textile wall-hanging that incorporates intriguing color gradients. These colors are aesthetically pleasing and appear to be quite time consuming to do so. Next to that, still hanging on the walls, is abstract sculpture. Here, there is a wooden block with what appears to be stones around it. Next to this, sitting on a platform, was a similar piece of sculpture. These were intriguing due to the artist’s symbolism the incorporated into the pieces. Moving further into the space, other sculptures were displayed of varying sizes. The artist wanted a way to portray movement and speed within these works. They are long, sleek objects that accomplished their mission pretty easily to me. In the center of the room on a wooden table were numerous little cups and bowls that appear to be hand made and painted. These were quite interesting and each on was unique to the one next to it.
While this space was quite inclusive with all the different styles and mediums that could be placed in this exhibit, there was a lack of cohesion with it. Because each works was so unique to the artist themselves, there was a disconnect when moving from one set to another. There was no overall feel to the exhibit, except maybe to brag a little about the professors who work on campus. A viewer could walk from one piece to another to observe and appreciate it, but there is no connection as a whole. They do not obtain some connected meaning or feeling, and I think it was a great opportunity there for this that just was not taken. If there was some sort of connection between the works, content, color, meaning, I think it would have made the exhibit much more successful.