Dance History in Contemporary Visual Art Practice Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center Jennie Goldstein

Beginning in the 1960s and with increasing regularity, artists have incorporated dance into proj- ects made for spaces and contexts once exclusively reserved for the plastic arts. Posed bod- ies captured in photographs, painted portraits featuring choreographers’ likenesses, and objects with or through which gallery visitors move their bodies have surfaced in environments that painting, sculpture, and multimedia installations call home.1 International curators and program

1. Consider Elad Lassry’s photographs of ballet dancers and Silke Otto-Knapp’s ethereal paintings derived from photographs of choreographers including George Balanchine and . William Forsythe’s “cho- reographic object” The Fact of the Matter (2009) encourages the spectator to traverse a gallery space filled with gymnastic rings, while Christian Jankowski’s 2007/08 video installation Rooftop Routine includes hula hoops that are scattered around the gallery floor and propped against the walls, ready to be picked up and tried out (Forsythe n.d.).

TDR: The Drama Review 60:2 (T230) Summer 2016. ©2016 and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 103

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104 Jennie Goldstein plays intheartmuseum. atrium space turing threeconsecutiveweekendsofperformancesintheMuseumModern Art’s cavernous torial agenda design by Leah Piehl and Kelly Nipper. (Image of Kelly Nipper)courtesy projection (black and white, sound); 5:11 minute loop, dimensions variable. Dancer: taisha paggett; costume Figure 1. (previous page) Video still from Kelly Nipper’s sponsors havereactedto increased exposuretoformsoftime-basedperformance. dance-centric exhibitions, filmscreenings, andliveperformanceevents. Lemon co-organized 4. Lemon 3. 2. Draw (2011–12), organized in Boston; and by Art the Institute of Contemporary regular exhibitionsattheZuccaire,Alloway, andSimonsCenterartgalleries. ample opportunitiesforcuratorialtheoryandpracticeinconjunctionwiththeUniversity’s and PrincetonthroughtheNewYork Inter-University DoctoralConsortium,andhave Arts, Culture,andTechnology. TheyareabletotakecoursesatColumbia,NYU,CUNY, affiliated facultyinCulturalAnalysisandTheory, Music,andtheConsortiumforDigital longstanding associationwithContinentalPhilosophyandAesthetics,aswellfrom is wellservedbytheresourcesofalargeresearchuniversity. Studentsbenefitfromour small, selective,close-knitprogramwhosecomparativeandinterdisciplinaryorientation pride ourselvesonremainingopentothelatestinterdisciplinarymethodologies.We area in theworldtosupportgraduatelevelstudyofmodernandcontemporaryart,we Lawrence Alloway, thePrograminArtHistoryandCriticismwasoneoffirstprograms for guestlectures,conferences,andeveningclasses.Underthevisionaryleadershipof professional networking,andoursatellitecampusinManhattanaffordsanidealspace museums andgalleriesoffersextensiveopportunitiesforresearch,internships, and individuallycraftedcurriculum.OurproximitytoNewYork City’sworld-renowned material culture.AtboththeMAandPhDlevels,weofferadynamic,interdisciplinary focused onmodernandcontemporaryart,asitisshapedbymedia,technology HistoryandCriticismatStonyBrookUniversityisuniquely The GraduatePrograminArt support fromStonyBrookUniversity’sGraduateCouncilandthePittsburghFoundation. underpinnings fortherecentsurgeindancemuseums.Herresearchhasreceived Bodies, MovingThings:ConvergencesofArtandDance,1960–1975,”revealshistorical is onintersectionsofvisualartanddance,herin-progressdissertation,“Moving University whereshespecializesinlatemodernandcontemporaryart.Herareaoffocus Jennie GoldsteinisaPhDcandidateinArtHistoryandCriticismatStonyBrook choreographers into three pairings, one for each weekend of live events. and Jérôme Bel auditoriums as well as from commercial galleries. site is differentiatedarticle from inmuseum thistheaters or The museum gallery whether static or otherwise. “Gallery” is here used to describe the architecturalmuseums where spaces in art curators install works of art, spaces. gramming dance in museum gallery prize that also comes with an exhibition slot), thus signaling their institutional commitment to pro(a monetary - awardedAmerican Art 2012 Biennial and choreographer participant Sarah Michelson their Bucksbaum Award de 1900 à nos jours at the Centre Pompidou (2011–12). Perhaps most telling of all, the Whitney Museum of the Hayward Gallery’s imperatively titled Select recent examples include: Exhibitions dedicatedtolivedanceinmuseumgallerysettingsoffervisualartaudiences — — triggers considerabledebateregardingtheconceptualandeconomicrolesdance for examplechoreographerRalphLemon’s2012projectSomesweet day, fea- Some sweet day with MoMA PS1 associate curator Jenny Schlenzka. The curators divided six Student EssayContestHonorableMention 4 — The danceseeninmuseumsoftenassumestwointerrelated, butdis- and perhapsspuron Dance with Camera Philadelphia; Art, (2009) at the Institute of Contemporary Move: ChoreographingMove: You — Weather Center, 2009. Single channel video this movetowardmovementbyorganizing 3 At thesametime, thistypeofcura- (2010–11), presented in London; Danser Sa Vie: Danser 2

Art et Danse ­presented Dance/ Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 105 contexts, proves contexts, , 2009. Single Single 2009. Center, Weather 5 when the participants, when the participants, — “the question of why” artists look to dance, she artists look to dance, “the question of why” — channel video projection (black-and-white, sound); 5:11 minute loop, dimensions dimensions loop, minute 5:11 sound); (black-and-white, projection video channel of Museum Whitney Biennial, Whitney 2010 paggett. taisha Dancer: variable. courtesy Nipper) Kelly of Orcutt; Bill by (Photo York. New Art, American Figure 2. Installation view of Kelly Nipper’s Nipper’s Kelly of view Installation 2. Figure both for history and for disciplinary borders both for history and — (Witch Dance) Dance) (Witch actions that create artworks — , a dance Dance, Witch

(2009), a project that is emblematic of the presence of dance’s particular is emblematic of the presence of dance’s a project that Center (2009), Weather Hexentanz Hexentanz making

their works first, followed by Faustin Linyekula and Dean Moss, then and Sarah Michelson. Michelson. Sarah and Hay Deborah then Moss, Dean and Linyekula Faustin by followed first, works their role the examined formats, online in and panels post-performanceand organized in both discussions, pre- Heated problems performerto attention performancescalled these 2012), in gender and race of remuneration (Goldman to opposed (as programming museum experiential in increase the that speculation prompted and 2012), (Wasik 2012). Rocco (La downturn economic post-2008 the by triggered was display) static of forms traditional in California, Valencia, Artsthe of in Institute California the from MFA her received 1971) (b. Nipper Kelly video. and film, photography, studied she where 1995, Weather Center is part of Weather , like the Center, Weather 5. from 1914 and 1926. In the five- from 1914 and 1926. Nipper minute looped video, - choreog and her collaborator, reimagine rapher taisha paggett, Wigman’s considered radical for its evoca- tive gestures and its rejection of balletic tradition. ­ ongoing multi Nipper’s larger, an eponymous live compo- called Floyd on the Floor, media project that was initiated in 1999, In this Memorial Church gymnasium in 2007. nent of which the artist staged in the Judson Wigman’s of dancers executed steps derived from the modern movement analysis performance, a Marley floor covered with large-scale renderings Atop teacher Rudolf von Laban (1879–1958). moved through space in the same place where the they of his choreographic notation system, postmodern techniques almost 50 years prior Theater’s participants developed Judson Dance The artist’s incorporation of multiple 20th-century dance histories in vari- to Nipper’s event. ­ her fluid passage across distinct historical ous components of Floyd on the Floor, majority of Nipper’s works, is works, majority of Nipper’s in muse- intended for display in the It was first shown ums. exhibi- Whitney Biennial 2010 Whitney Museum tion at the New York, of American Art, and consists of a single chan- black-and-white video pro- nel, jection that recapitulates the German modern choreogra- (1886– Wigman’s pher Mary 1973)

writes, “remains an open one” (2011:15). A close examination of Kelly Nipper’s video instal- A close examination (2011:15). open one” “remains an writes, lation Center Weather open question. proposes an answer to Molesworth’s art, histories within visual reveals what is at stake art converge. and discursive spaces of dance and visual physical locations, tinct, forms: one in which visual artists working in a variety of mediums adopt dance and its adopt dance and its a variety of mediums artists working in one in which visual forms: tinct, and another in as collaborators; related dance professionals subject or dancers and history as I’m live events. and dancers to create invite choreographers lead projects that which curators - explicit recogni by Helen Molesworth’s in part, prompted, the former category, addressing accompanying her forth in the catalogue in dance as set artists’ growing interest tion of visual as central to bodily movement Molesworth identifies While . Dance/Draw 2011/12 exhibition mark ­ Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

106 Jennie Goldstein ing withprojectedimages, movingimages, andthe presenceofthemobilebodyineach. the newmediumsandcriticaldevelopmentsofintervening century. performed herWitch Dance, stretchesthishistoricalworkintothepresentandfilters itthrough performance. Nipper’s2009video, completedanddisplayed nearly100yearsafter Wigman first phy, drawing, andcollage;inprojectedvideo andmultimediainstallations;inembodiedlive rejecting traditionaldivisionsofmedia:herprojectoperatesin thetwodimensionsofphotogra- “stretching imagesintime” (inGoldberg2009:85). Sheadaptsthisbroadconceptualconcernby in thecamera’sunwieldyyetsynchronizedcutsandpans. Wigman’s above herwithfingerssplayedandthenfirmlygraspingankles. Eachmovement against thefloorbeneathher, paggettscuttlesforwardonherbutt, alternatelyraisingherarms She mechanicallyshiftsherweightfromonesideofbodytotheother. With feetpounding voice thatmethodicallyandrepeatedlycountsto10. The dancerraisesandlowersherknees. she beginstorockfromsideside, movinginrhythmtothesoundofadisembodiedfemale each kneeresultsinangular, crookedelbows. With herbackcurvedandheadjuttingout, rior space. Herlegsarebent, thesolesofherfeetarepressedtogether;ahandpositionedon costume designerLeahPiehl). Shesitsonthefloorofanunadornedandunidentifiableinte- terned dressandamaskwithincisionsattheeyes, nose, andmouth(createdforNipperby Weather Centerfeaturesasolitarydancer, paggett, cladinaloose-fittinggeometricallypat- Stretching Images Weather Centercaststhedisciplineofdanceaswork’smedium. ities, notationalmethods, archivaldocuments, andsitesofpresentationtogetherinonework, art form. BymaterializingmodernEuropeanchoreographies, postmodern American sensibil- dancing modesofthe1960s. The resultisexperimentalhistoriographyinacontemporaryvisual screen, shefiltersexpressiveinterwarmodernchoreographythroughthecerebral, detached essential tounderstandingWeather Center. Onthetwo-dimensionalimageplaneofavideo Leah Piehl and Kelly Nipper. (Images of Kelly Nipper)courtesy (black-and-white, sound); 5:11 minute loop, dimensions variable. Dancer: taisha paggett; costume design by Figures 3 & 4. Video still from Kelly Nipper’s 2010:xi) hasinstigatednewcategoricaldesignationsincluding “artist’s cinema” (Connolly2009) ubiquity of “screen-based viewingwithintheinstitutionalcontext ofthevisualarts”(Mondloch 6. Museum spectatorsaredoubtlessfamiliarwiththerisein numbersofvisualartistswork- Nipper beganworkingwithprofessionaldancersin1998tofurther herengagementwith For an early influential theorization of video as medium, see Rosalind Krauss (1976). tion and exhibition display. For see Doug of a video comprehensiveart, Hall and Sally history Jo Fifer (1990). Sony’s introduction of the affordable produc in 1967initiated what has become- commonplace in artist Portapak Witch Dance — both constitutesandgeneratesenergy, aneffectthatNipperreiterates Weather Center, 2009. Single channel video projection — echoes of 6 The Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 107 , Dance Witch (1998), among others. others. among (1998), Family Sha la la la Sha Family , the second version of version second the II, Hexentanz video art are numerous, and include Tracy Emin’s Emin’s Tracy include and numerous, artvideo are in 1926. (Photo by Charlotte Rudolph, © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New New (ARS), Society Rights Artists 2016 © Rudolph, Charlotte by (Photo 1926. Bonn) Bild-Kunst, VG / York Figure 5. Mary Wigman in Wigman Mary5. Figure - In

8 7 uses video but is not about video. Nipper’s primary Center uses video but is not about video. Weather

9 in this categorythis in Center (2012:17). Weather Weather Center’s early Weather

Nipper’s object. defines Nipper’s object.

Similarly, as André Lepecki has noted, examples of dance dance of examples noted, has Lepecki André as Similarly, While the era of post-medium specificity may be well underway for visual artworks, an age may be well underway for visual artworks, While the era of post-medium specificity Weather Center is a histori- Weather (1995) and Lillibeth Cuenca Rasmussen’s Rasmussen’s Cuenca Lillibeth and (1995) Dancer a Became Never I Why lists also Lepecki n.d.). Nipper (see stills video from derived series photographic a of form the takes also Center Weather rules.same these by governed still typically display of spaces the institutional are too So 7. 9. goal is not to recursively examine properties inherent to that medium. Instead, video expedites a Instead, inherent to that medium. goal is not to recursively examine properties disciplinary history of dance as the subject of Nipper’s gathering together of moments from the visual artwork. schol- curators, Museum and performance certain. of post-discipline specificity is perhaps less evolved into calls terminology that has and critics advocate for increased interdisciplinarity, ars, Jackson has as performance studies scholar Shannon Yet for trans- or even non-disciplinarity. ‘disci- cannot ignore the fact that artists are often “experimental art making the resulting noted, (2011:13). do not always share the same standards” result, as a and, plined’ by previous training, Jackson assumptions can provoke confusion. Practitioners’ applications of discipline-specific the lan- “Performers find themselves becoming fabricators; body artists are learning continues: have become extroverted site performers” guage of new media; introverted studio inhabitants model territorial disturbances have increased as the dance-as-exhibition As a result, (2011:13). - prior to Lemon’s 2012 dance plat Times in the New York Writing proliferates in museums. dance critic Claudia La Rocco described increased cura- Art, form at the Museum of Modern ploy [that] has engendered a skepticism among many “marketing torial attention to dance as a The misgiving La Rocco articulates here is that if dance is (2012). in the performance world” However, the very same museum the very However, just as likely not to audience is recognize a contem- cal reenactment and as it is porary dance as much the and in resisting video art, these char privileging of any of work is Nipper’s acterizations, art produc- clearly an example of condi- “post-medium tion in the 2000). (Krauss [1999] tion” 20th-century source material. 20th-century Krauss recognized that because mediums such as oil on canvas from “technical supports” artists were free to take up new or welded metal had run their course, in this However art making 2000; 2006:55–62). other realms of culture (1999:289–305; [1999] The regulating what can and cannot qualify as art. changed condition is still governed by rules ability to point to the conventions governing the success of an artwork remains based on its chosen technical support. keeping with what art historian keeping with what art articulated Rosalind Krauss first no traditional in the late 1990s, support and “screen-reliant and “screen-reliant installa- (Mondloch 2010). tion art” 8. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

108 Jennie Goldstein commercial visualartsector. ­consumed andvaluedasanartobjectthenitrisksbecomingtypologicallyabsorbedintothe 12. 11. 10. Dance Theater’s postmodernism just anymovements. InWeather Center, embodiedhistories However, thebodiesNipper “works with” arenotjustanybodies, andthemovementsarenot to describeherselfas “a visualartistwhoworkswithbodies” (Velasco andNipper2010:202). unexpected. Sheultimatelyeschewstheterms “dance” and “choreography,” optinginstead ment withscientificinquiry, adatacollectionprocessthatcanyieldresultsbothpredictedand cast movementmoregenericallythanthespecificdesignationofdance;sheequatesmove- with adance-basedbackground, shecannotassumetheroleofchoreographer. Nipperwould that withoutyearsoftraining, cultivatedvocabulary, andtheembodiedknowledgeassociated ful rhetoricevincesherdiscomfortwithassumingthisdisciplinarycategorization. Shesuggests automobiles inthestreet, tothecraftingandstagingofdiplomacy” (2009:4–5) of movementorchestration, fromthetransnationalmigrationofpeople, tothestop-and-goof definition canextend, asHarmonyBenchwrites, “beyondthefieldofdance, implyinganykind Nipper 2010:202). Despitethecontinualcompoundingofwhatchoreographyencompasses ment,” andthatshedoesn’tconsiderherselftobeachoreographer “whatsoever” (Velasco and cerns. Shehasstatedthatshe “work[s] lesswithdancepersethanthescienceofmove- Events, significantpredecessorstotherecentinfluxofdanceinmuseums(seeCrimp 2008). tory, andcalledthenewworkMuseumEvent No. 1. Hewentontoperformover800site-specific Cunningham adaptedtotheopengalleryspacebyreconfiguringfragmentsfromexistingreper Zwanz’ger Haus, invitedCunninghamtoperformathisinstitutiondespiteitslackofatheatre. Museum des20. Jahrhunderts(Museumofthe Twentieth Century)in Vienna, nowknownasthe adapted choreographiesspecificallyformuseumgalleriesbeginningin1964. Thedirectorofthe examples ofinnovativecross-disciplinarycollaborations. Rauschenberg’s costumesanddécorforCunninghaminthe1950s1960sarewell-known Isamu Noguchi’ssculpturalsetsforMarthaGrahaminthe1930sand1940s;Robert throughout the20thcentury. PabloPicasso’sdesignsfortheBalletsRusses’sParade in1917; tors, andmultimediaartistswhohavebroadlycontributedtochoreographicenterprises Copeland (2004), and Robert Tracy (2000). For discussions of these specific artist-choreographer intersections, among others, see Juliet Bellow (2012), Roger Museum in the 1970s. Brown, , and Yvonne Rainer, in the empty galleries of the among others, to perform Whitney Bishop [2014]). Cunningham’s Events helped to pave the way for numerous choreographers, including Trisha of the Museumhistory of Modern Art’s of Dance Department short-lived and Theater Design in the 1940s (see In a 2014 issue of Museum,”Art given at the Kaplan Institute for Humanities, Northwestern University, on 11 November 2015. overlooked in a lecture called “Stepping history into Dance on Display: A Performance History of the American exhibitions and endeavored workshops for to youngstart choreographers. Amanda Graham began to assess this found and maintain the Brooklyn Museum Dance Center, where from 1935 to 1938 he organized dance-focused Precursors to Cunningham’s Events include dance writer and museum programmer Grant Hyde Code’s work to marketsnew to exploit” (2012). based system about creating value around objects, a system that is voracious as it constantly seeks novelty and erally ­production and the frameworks through which value is being created around dance and question the museum’s motives and long-term strategies, until we really look at the economics of cultural Performance curator and critic Andy Horwitz has expressed precisely this sentiment: “Unless we interrogate Nipper’s descriptionsofherworkingprocesssignalsensitivitytothesedisciplinarycon- Of course, thereisahistoryofdancedoneinmuseums. Forexample, MerceCunningham It isworthbrieflynotingherethatNipperfallsintoalargertrajectoryofpainters, sculp- — the performing arts sector risks being subsumed byworld that is fundamentally a market- arts a visual arts the performing Dance Research Journal devoted to the topic of dance in museums, Claire Bishop outlined the 10

— are nestedintheprojectedvideo loop. 12 However, eachofthesepairings — Wigman’s modernismandJudson — and performance gen- and performance — Nipper’s care- 11 — its its - Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 109

Trio A Trio Witch Dance Witch presentation. In presentation. — Wigman danced in silence Wigman 13

no to conformity, no to masquerade, no to masquerade, no to conformity, 15 — operates as a partner in the field of visual art. in the field of visual art. operates as a partner With her text, and the dances that inspired her text, With 17 comprised of specific histories, expert practi- histories, comprised of specific — — or dancing — - dancers who trained in the highly expressive techniques of cho By the late 1950s, for their modernist self-reflexivity. Wigman embodied an absolute dance that she Wigman embodied for their modernist self-reflexivity. 16

— Historians championed Wigman’s dances from the early 20th century dances from the early Wigman’s Historians championed

14 Wigman’s refusals, her acts of saying refusals, Wigman’s As cited in (and translated by) Susan Manning (1993:16). (1993:16). Manning Susan by) translated (and in cited As respectively. Song, and Manning by Translations (2007:427). Song Jiyun and (1993:18) Manning in cited As not literary-interpretivedoes any it of content; “independent as 1927 in dance absolute her described Wigman mental- a on is experience dancer’s the experience to invited is who spectator on the effect its and is, it represent, Susanne see Ausdruckstanz, of historiography the On 1975:108). (Sorell moving” and exciting level, motoric Walter and (1986) Müller Hedwig (1993), Manning Susan see details, biographical Wigman’s For (2007). Franco (1986). Sorell work, choreographic famous most her of analyses all and any in “manifesto” Rainer’s to refer Critics These precedents offer rich historical context, but they cannot directly account for Nipper’s account for Nipper’s they cannot directly but context, offer rich historical These precedents (1966). Its constant citation haunts Rainer, who lamented in her memoir that it has “dogged my heels ever since since ever heels my “dogged has it that memoir her in lamented who Rainer, haunts citation constant Its (1966). mani- the of tradition time-honored the what “do it that was text the for goal original Her published.” first was it (2006:264). particulara at air the clear do: to manifestos intended always festo moment” historical and cultural northernin with along attended Rainer workshops (which California movement improvisatory Halprin’s Anna 2009). [2007] (Ross dance modern from away shift this spearhead to much did Forti) Simone and Brown Trisha or to percussive instruments, and rejected the narrative structures and character development and rejected the narrative structures or to percussive instruments, costumes as intrinsic to bodily ges- was praised for reimagining the role of She central to ballet. Her choreographies bowed in servitude to a story. tures instead of as decorative elements toiling There space. she explored how her body moved in neither to music nor to literature; instead, no theatrics” masquerade, “no in her earliest dances, “no conformity,” according to Delius, was, (21). included a group of (dance of expression), Ausdruckstanz developed under the choreographic umbrella in the early 20th century in German-speaking movement and teaching methods that emerged 2007:80). regions of Europe (Manning 1993:18; Franco reographers such as Wigman (but also Americans Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey), Americans Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey), (but also Wigman reographers such as of representation rather than a form that could be “found [in their classes and training] a system (Goldberg 1990:21). experienced as spontaneous” 14. 15. 16. 13. Malleable Modern Histories Histories Malleable Modern of her presented as part Dance, 1914 Witch Wigman’s writing about Critic Rudolf von Delius, hailed the event as a triumph as a choreographer (Manning 1993:15), first formal performance at that time seen as to discard music, that was free “sovereign art” a dance, “self-sufficient” of dancers took their lead (Delius 1914:21). the art form from which other words, ticket-wielding, seated spectators consumed these works before a proscenium stage before a proscenium these works seated spectators consumed ticket-wielding, other words, space. in a darkened pre-existing theatrical these works within her predecessors generated While Center. Weather collaborative the direction of this Nipper reverses or décor, set, such as costume, designations, the field of dance project, In Nipper’s process. and archival documents reconstructions, tioners, intended for theatrical live dance events ultimate goal of producing served the it and followed in its wake, Rainer broke from the previously cutting-edge, but by then fully Rainer broke from the previously cutting-edge, it and followed in its wake, avantgarde of modes. canonized, no to theatrics, were echoed in early 1960s . In 1965, dancer Yvonne Rainer Yvonne dancer In 1965, were echoed in early 1960s postmodern dance. no to theatrics, “NO to spectacle no to in part: which reads, “No manifesto,” penned what is described as her and make-believe [...] no to seduction of the spec- virtuosity no to transformations and magic (Rainer eccentricity no to moving and being moved” tator by the wiles of the performer no to 1965:178). 17. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

110 Jennie Goldstein Crow’s arthistoricalframeworkinmind, italsoreflectsadiscursive finality simply beinterpretedasaplayfulriffonthelocation’ssubterranean locale. However, with art ofthemid-1960s. that Judsondancewasthecrucialinnovatorunderscoredpostminimal, process-based ethical imperativesintheconductofJudsoncircle” (1996:128). Inotherwords, Crowargues nonhierarchical composition” (2008:25). These elements, Crowposits, “first cametogetheras ties of1960sartmaking, including “repetition andseriality, resistancetoemotionaldisplay, and Sixties. InLambert-Beatty’sparaphrasingofCrow’sargument, sheliststheprivilegedquali- years afterthe1993reprintinarthistorian Thomas Crow’s1996publicationTheRiseofthe Democracy’s Body: Judson Dance Theater, 1962–1964([1983]1993:xvii)waspickedupjustafew of theJudsonDance Theater ascommittedto “democratic orcollectiveprocess” inherbook Beatty 2008:25). Banesisadancehistorian, butasLambert-Beattypointsout, herpositioning tory ofthisperiod” bywayofthegroup’searliestscholar-advocate, SallyBanes(Lambert- art historiansthananyother, theauthorevinceshowJudsonperformance “entered arthis- which hasarguablydonemoretofurtherthestatusofJudsondanceamongvisualartistsand staged underthe “Judson dance” rubric. history ordancestudies, signalingNipper’spointofentryintotheinterdisciplinaryworks 19. 18. ber ofthemostexperimentalperiodinrecentarthistory” (inGoldberg2009:83). claimed thatthebasementlocationselectedforliveperformanceservesas “the burialcham- of site isparticularlycrucialtoanexaminationofNipper’sWeather Centerandtothelivesegment not alwaysclearlydemarcatedfromthatoccupiedbytheaudience. This historicallycharged pedestrian actions, theuseofeverydayitems, andacceptednondancersontothestage, aspace Judson MemorialChurch’sGreenwich Village basementin1962, theparticipantschampioned dance throughthecooperativeeffortsofdancers, artists, andmusicians. Gatheringinthe Dance Theater, aloosecollectiveofchoreographerswhousheredintheerapostmodern guidance oforchestralmusic. meet herpredecessor’sacts:Raineralsorefusednarrativityandturnedawayfromtherhythmic listic differencesbetweenRainerand Wigman’s performances, Rainer’srefusalscirclebackto the chancetomeetRainer’sgaze, tocreatealinkfromherbodyours. Despitetheovertsty- ings thatgrow, reachapinnacle, andconclude. With hereyesconstantlyaverted, weneverget up orslowdown. Trio A deniesthespectatorchanceto “read”- herchoreographyasphras and alsomosttheorizeddance, Rainercombinedaseriesofstepsthatneverrepeat, neverspeed jogged asaherdinonedirection, thenanother, thenanother. InTrio A movement. InWe ShallRun, from1963, agroupofstreet-clothedandsneaker-clad participants Floyd ontheFloorstagedinJudsonChurchgymnasium2007. Nipperhasevocatively Nipper’s morbiddescriptionoftheJudsonChurchgymnasium asa “burial chamber” might This claimlocatestheJudsonDance Theater withthefieldofarthistoryratherthandance Rainer’s dancesandmanyotherswereincubatedwithinthespacecontextofJudson Rainer’s early1960sperformancespresentedthebodyasavehiclefortask-like, everyday (2008:276). workshops and often collaborated with members of Judson Dance in its concerts” Theater but did not participate that preceded at the church,of Simone the concerts and the performances Forti, in the early who participated that the narrowerat this time and embraces art term would exclude, such as the choreography done in workshops sociological entity, expresses developed type of in dance-based Newperformance this wider sense of the new York tinction between the two. She writes, “The phrase ‘Judson dance,’ projectreferring to rather the than artistic the “Judson dance” (as opposed to Judson Dance Theater) is used here in keeping with Carrie Lambert-Beatty’s dis- run counter to the “burial chamber” historical significance seems to particular status she conferred on it. ply one of the spaces Performa organizers made available to her (Nipper 2012). Yet this step back from the site’s has stated that she did not select the The artist Judson Church gymnasium sitebecause of its history. It was sim- The live version of Floyd on the Floor was commissioned by Performa, performance. visual art the biennial of new 19 InCarrieLambert-Beatty’s2008textonRainer, (1966), hermostfamous — whether experi- 18

Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 111

- Blond

Circle Circle Circle (2010) that she initially con- initially she that (2010) When she initiated the 20 as if the dances and concepts nur — ian logic but also exist apart from it” (Velasco and and (Velasco apartexist also it” logic but ian from Floyd Shifting Shapes (3, 6, 9, 12) 9, 6, (3, Shapes Shifting Nipper’s performance practice, she explains, she explains, Nipper’s performance practice, 21 (2009) (Goldberg, 2009:85). In addition to these video installations installations video these to addition In 2009:85). (Goldberg, (2009) project to be her “first actual ‘performance’ work” (Velasco and Nipper Nipper and (Velasco work” ‘performance’ actual “first her be to project at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis (see Goldberg 2009:84). 2009:84). Goldberg (see Minneapolis in Factory Soap the at #2 Soap project. She has since determined that it “exists as a variation or supplement supplement or variation a as “exists it that determined since has She project. Weather Center Center Weather Floyd , 2007. Dancers (from left): Marissa Ruazol, Libby Buchanan, Buchanan, Libby Ruazol, Marissa left): (from Dancers 2007. , Floor the on Floyd (2008), and (2008), Sapphire

Floydthe of segment this considers Nipper called piece, the performance. live included that For installation one she made 1995, in Previously, 2010:202). blewand bubblegum, chewed bubbles. terrycloth-clad,a , performerwhite Blond hallway, long a in stood was displayed in a group exhibition called exhibition group a in displayed was studies” “research-based as the describes Nipper what include components related Additional (2007), Situated in the specific place of the Judson gymnasium, amid increasingly fluid art and dance amid increasingly fluid gymnasium, Situated in the specific place of the Judson ceived as a parta as larger the of ceived Nipper has worked on a performancea on called video worked and has Nipper “extend video the and event live The piece.” main the to Nipper 2010:203). In this work, paggett executes one of Rudolf Laban’s movement scales while moving through through moving while scales movement Laban’s Rudolf of one executes paggett work, this In 2010:203). Nipper - she derived its title from her abiding interest in weather sys Floyd on the Floor project in 1999, Atlantic Ocean a category-4 storm that generated in the specifically Hurricane Floyd, tems, that year and battered the mid-Atlantic Coast. 20. enced by the artist herself, or one she projects onto others enced by the artist herself, 21. Figure 6. Kelly Nipper, Nipper, Kelly 6. Figure Matt Sweeney, Guillermo Ortega Tanus. Costume design by Leah Piehl and Kelly Nipper. PERFORMA 07, 07, PERFORMA Nipper. Kelly and Piehl Leah by design Costume Tanus. Ortega Guillermo Sweeney, Matt courtesy Nipper) (Photo Kelly of NY. York, New Church, Memorial Judson tured in this space have been sealed shut. Given the ubiquitous presence of Judson dance within Given the ubiquitous presence of Judson tured in this space have been sealed shut. to pry it may seem as if this metaphorical door is too heavy both dance and art scholarship, or dance, constituting art, histories, that these however, Nipper’s own projects make clear, open. and ongoing. alive, They are fungible, are anything but entombed. otherwise, Nipper presented the 30-minute live work. historical demarcations, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021 courtesy of Kelly Nipper)courtesy PERFORMA 07 Biennial, , New York, NY. (Photo taisha paggett, Guillermo Ortega Tanus. A PERFORMA Commission, director: taisha paggett. Dancers (from left): Sarah Leddy, Ryan Lawrence, in this rehearsal for Kelly Nipper, Figure 7. The large-scale renderings of Laban notations are evident on the floor 112 Jennie Goldstein them anew. And, justastheweathergraphics ontheeveningnewsmakeperfectsenseto ments inplacelongenoughforustoanalyzestepsandpropulsions andthen, ideally, embody dancing bodiescannotbestilledbeforeoureyes, butLabanotation canholdchoreographicele- ously unpredictable, yetwerelyuponDopplerdevices to trackandanalyzeprecipitation. Live render observablesubjectsthatresisttheimpulsetofixephemeralevents. Weather isnotori- works, whichalsoutilizedLaban’snotationaldevices. floor inclusion Judsondancemadeacceptable. Nippercoveredthestagearea ertoire ofLaban’smovementanalysisandplayful, seeminglyun-dance-likemovementswhose then re-executed. cific steps, energies, andtrajectoriesontostaffsthatcanlaterbe “read,” likemusicalnotes, and wind parachutesaroundtheirankles. Nipper’s 2007dance, fourduostraverseaspaceaswrist-claspedpairs, orperformaloneasthey tem forarticulatingmovementranges “opened up[her]entireworld” (Goldberg2009:85). In 23. 22. Floyd ontheFloorcorrelatesradartechnologiesandLabanotation;bothsystemsattemptto Guillermo Ortega Tanus in performed Libby Buchanan, Ryan Lawrence, Sarah Leddy, Eli McAfee, taisha paggett, Marissa Ruazol, Matt Sweeney, and ([1970] 1983:302). Jacob with the angel. No error, no disappointment, no failure could ever keep him from pursuing this work” tional systems, which were “the one thing to which he was absolutely faithful and for which he wrestled like Witch Dance I at the Laban School (Manning 1993:15, 59). Wigman recalled her teacher’s passion for his nota - Wigman studied with Laban and was deeply influenced by his structured improvisational methods. She debuted about until the entire work is completed” (in Goldberg 2009:89). unfold and develop. In 2009, Nipper stated that she does not “think it’s going to be clear what the project is ­oversized to resemble sculptural elements constructed the interior components of a camera. — with largediagramsthatgraphicallychartthemovementfromoneofherearliervideo Floyd on the Floor , 2007. Rehearsal 22 Nipper’sdiscoveryofLaban’snotationalinnovationsandhisscaledsys- Floyd on the Floor (2007). 23 Their movementsalternatelyenactthetechnicalrep-

maps adancer’sbodyparts, spe- Rudolf vonLaban, Labanotation Wigman’s teacher, thedancer tent ephemerality. ward offthethreatofitspersis- imental danceandeffectively cess developedtorecordexper Labanotation, agraphicalpro- with notationalsystemssuchas ity ofmeteorologicalpatterns nation withtheunpredictabil- the artistcombinedherfasci- Floyd ontheFloorperformance, the hurricane’seye. Inthe2007 events andideasswirlaround work; artifactsanddocuments, ­metaphor forhistoryinNipper’s (2012). The stormoperatesasa time intothehereandnow” vast fieldsandthepassageof video, technologiesthat­ in photographyandfilm[and] “expands from[her]background Invented inthelate1920sby — the gymnasium Floyd continues to collapse - Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 113 Malleus Malleus (2007), a silent two- silent (2007), a Circle Circle . For example, according to the the to according example, For . Floyd implicate, provoke, or disrupt the privileged or disrupt the privileged provoke, implicate, The dancers’ trained agility is of paramount 25 — is tied to tied is Center Weather if effectively executed — 24

, a treatise on witchcraft in the early modern period, women accused of sorcery could “stir up hail- up sorceryof accused women period, modern early the in witchcraft on “stir could Maleficarumtreatise a , 2009:380). (Mackay animals” and domestic humans strike lightning make also and rainstorms and storms Paul J. the at works Rainer’s Yvonne performingher saw she after paggett with of one in working began Nipper grounding/ and presence her and moved she way the to responded “really Nipper Angeles. Los in Center Getty was together on worked they project first The (2012). body” [her] in weight performsand camera the - rota from away faces who Hill) (Aubre dancer a features that projection video channel other. the on counter-clockwise and screen, one on clockwise hips her from tions In a further weather/Laban/Wigman connection, the relationship between weather and witches has a long histor- long a has witches and weather between relationship the connection, furthera weather/Laban/Wigman In which in way another yet precedent, ical Down in the Judson Church basement the elements of Nipper’s storm seem to swell. She She to swell. of Nipper’s storm seem the elements Judson Church basement Down in the Following Claire Bishop’s assessment of what she terms the “social turn” in performance art, in performance art, “social turn” what she terms the Following Claire Bishop’s assessment of Tatlin’s Whisper 5 Tatlin’s Bruguera’s performance, Tania One pertinent example is art world audience. policemen to demonstrate crowd-control methods to for which the artist hired mounted (2008), These assembled in gallery spaces (Bishop 2012b:223; see also 2004:51–79). viewer-participants - place that postmod history in the very European dance innovations of modern utilizes crucial While those footing. art) found its postmodern Crow, dance (or if we follow American ern - weight of mod off the bodily and historical to slough with Judson dance endeavored associated to “no” and Laban said Wigman decades before them modern dancers like ernist expressivity, while both art and dance histori- And theatrics of 19th-century ballet. the narrative-dependent and ideological opposition to postmodern dance in chronological cal accounts have positioned Susan Manning’s reclaiming of Judson dance Nipper’s project affirms its modern predecessor, dance met modern- Manning argues that Judson of .” “one of the last outposts as on the one of movement” “focusing on the reflexive rationalization by ism’s two key stipulations on the other (1988:37). and ballet” the distinction between modern dance “upholding and hand, dance nor 1960s New the legacies of early 20th-century European In Nipper’s work neither Both Weather than any other. no referent more celebrated innovations is privileged, York Instead of dance. of Floyd on the Floor recapitulate 20th-century Center and the live segment Nipper proposes rhetoric, as characterized by avantgarde of ruptures, emphasizing a series benefit from The aspects that these mutually informing histories share a field of continuity. simultaneous presentation. 25. 24. In order to explore these dance histories through dance, Nipper relies upon expertise she does Nipper relies upon expertise through dance, In order to explore these dance histories nor does she appear mov- Center, She is not the dancer featured in Weather not personally have. Nipper works with professional of Floyd on the Floor. ing among the dancers in the live portion to bodily exis- “as a way to explore the mechanics of moving and still images in relation dancers (2012). and time” the spatial environment, tence, Delegated and Durational Collaboration Delegated and Durational reporter but seem obscure to the viewer, Labanotation functions as a language discernable only as a language Labanotation functions viewer, seem obscure to the reporter but reader. to the trained importance: their precision, discipline, and their “bodily existence” are powerful materials “bodily existence” and their discipline, importance: their precision, By the broad themes of temporality and spatiality. around and through which Nipper explores Analysts, and Certified Laban Movement enlisting the work of experts such as choreographers she makes it. Nipper directs or produces art as much as Center to experts in order to seek aspects of Weather “delegate” or “outsource” Nipper seems to Bishop primarily examines socially collaborative, (2012a:91–112; 2012b:219–39). “authenticity” of these The most successful “delegated performance.” politically oriented works as examples of those in which artists seek out the specialized knowledge are she argues, participatory artworks, class or occupation. by geography or ethnicity, or abilities of a particular group that is bound The resulting artworks Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

114 Jennie Goldstein ists andurbanplannersthatrequireorganization, communication, andperseverance. pumps. GroupslikeDialogueandothersoftenassumegrassrootsmethodsfamiliartoactiv- collective workingintheBastarregionofcentralIndiatodesignergonomicandefficientwater ence feelingsoffearorpowerlessnessthanwouldagroupactorstheartistherself. trained officials, Bruguerasuggests, aremuchmorecapableofinstillinginthecorralledaudi- 29. 28. 27. 26. paggett’s masked African American bodyimmediately signalstheunsavoryrolemuseumshave tators unfamiliarwith Wigman orherdancesbutsteepedinvisualartandexhibitionhistory, through prolongedeffortthatWeather Centercanevokethedisciplineofdanceasitsmedium. indicates hercommitmenttodance, tocreatingworkthatis authentically dance-based. Itisonly amounts oftimetodevelopandperfect. Delegatingto expertCertifiedMovement Analysts ods. The Laban-derivedmovementsNipperusesrequireembodiedskill, butalsosignificant select dancersandchoreographersacrossinterrelatedprojectsoversustainedtimeperi- However, both “delegated” and “durational” vocabulariesdescribehowshecollaborates with tional interactioncommittedtocreativehistoriographicinvestigation. frameworks, butNipper’sWeather Centerworkswithinthemuseumtosuggestaformofdura- model ispredicatedonsocialandpoliticalinterventionoutsideoftraditionalmuseological instead ofmuseumsites. sustained andcontinuousrelationshipsthatcaneffectsocialchangeinlivedenvironments Kester alternativelyadvocatesfor “durational interaction” inartisticendeavorspredicatedupon ralled politicalprotestersthatBruguera’saudiencesfeelservesasacatalystforchange. rupture” (2011:65). ForBishop, theintenseburstoffrustration, panic, andsympathyforcor tifies as “concernedwiththegenerationofinsightthroughdurationalinteractionratherthan in fact, sharesanaffinitywithcontemporarycollaborativeartmakingthatGrantKesteriden- disruption thatBishopidentifiesascrucialforsuccessfuldelegatedperformance. Bishop’s formula:whenpresentedwithWeather Center, viewersdonotexperiencetheshockor Yet, whilepaggett’sdanceisaninstanceofoutsourcedauthenticity, itlacksacrucialelementof witch; indeed, Nipper’sownattemptwouldcertainlyappearinexpert, perhapsevenfarcical. one,” Nipperavers(Velasco andNipper2010:202). paggett’sdancingbodyconjures Wigman’s expertise, hermovementabilitiesandsensibilities. Dancers “know theirbodiesmorethanany- tors intotheirprocesses(Bishop2012b:229). Nipper, forherpart, lookstopaggett’sparticular been abletoincreasethescopeandattendantcostsoftheirworksbybringingskilledcollabora- as theartmarketeffectivelymonetizedliveandrecordedperformanceart, artistshaveinturn for projectsthatstressedphysicalandpsychologicalendurance. ist’s ownbodywasseenasavailablefreeofcharge, atanytime, andastheperfect­ a significantshiftawayfromthebody-basedpracticesof1960sand’70s. Then, theart- the physicalenactmentoftheirartworksoreventstoothers, oftenprofessionals, constitutes Outsourcing solvestheproblemofeffectivelyworkingwithdance assubject. Yet forspec- Neither Bishop’snorKester’sanalysiscompletelyaccountsforNipper’sworkingmethods. Wigman’s choreographyreinstatedasNipper’s contemporaryvideoprojection(viapaggett), durational collectives. cites international groups including Park Fiction in Hamburg and Ala Plastica in Argentina, as examples of See Kester in (2011). The artists Dialogue are Navjot Altaf, Rajkumar, Shantibai, and Gessuram. Kester also Abramović working is perhaps the most in famous this artist mode. for many hours (or even weeks or months), and that push upon the limits of mental and physical stamina. “durational”As an adjective art, used to describe performance is typically associated with projects that extend (2012b:219). Bishop references of the performances Vito Acconci, Chris Burden, and Marina Abramović as examples For a discussion of the relationship between policing and the public in Bruguera’s work, see Lepecki (2013). Bishop rightlypositsthatthetendencyamongcontemporaryperformanceartiststoassign 28 Artists operatinginthemodeKesterchampionsincludeDialogue, a 27 Inthesubsequentdecades, material basis 29 Kester’s 26

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Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 115

Les Demoiselles Demoiselles Les 30 ceremonial “Primitivism” in 20th Century20th in “Primitivism” Figure 8. Installation view of the exhibition the of view Installation 8. Figure Art, Modern of Museum The Modern. the and Tribal Art: the of Affinity Picasso’s Pablo 1984. November September–27 12 York, New on displayed are masks Iberian and African right, the on is (1907) d’Avignon SCALA/Artby Art/Licensed Modern of Museum The © Image (Digital left. the Resource, NY)

which thus allows it to be defined in wholly Western terms. And one begins to see that And one begins to see Western terms. which thus allows it to be defined in wholly —

For a history of institutional critique see A.A. Bronson and Peggy Gale (1983), Benjamin H.D. Buchloh (1990), (1990), Buchloh H.D. Benjamin (1983), Gale Peggy and historya Bronson A.A. see critique institutional of For (2011). Stimson Blake and Alberro Alexander Artists have explicitly critiqued the structuring systems of art institutions that made pos- Artists have explicitly critiqued the structuring the debates works like these bring to the Contemporary artists like Nipper have internalized gure” that for her, assumes a universal expressive power (Wigman 1966:34). The resulting 1966:34). assumes a universal expressive power (Wigman that for her, gure” 30. played in decontextualizing and and played in decontextualizing art non-Western essentializing the 20th century, throughout in the case of so- particularly Not only “primitivism.” called Cubist did early 20th-century and and Expressionist painters sculptors appropriate African, art forms and Oceanic Iberian, religious while discarding their museum and other use values, curators have also displayed objects side-by- non-Western worksside with the European most they formally influenced, ofinfamously in the Museum exhibitionArt’s 1984 Modern in 20th Century “Primitivism” and theTribal Affinity of the Art: As Hal Foster wrote in Modern. con- the aftermath of MoMA’s “the prim- troversial exhibit, itive/tribal is set adrift from specific referents and coordi- nates one of the preconditions, if not of primitivism, then of the ‘Primitivism’ show, is the mummifica- ‘Primitivism’ show, then of the if not of primitivism, one of the preconditions, of its objects” (1985:52).tion of the tribal and the museumification A potent early example include Hans Haacke’s MoMA sible these cultural misappropriations. the fact that Governor Rockefeller has “Would which posed the printed question (1970), Poll Policy be a reason for you not voting for him in not denounced President Nixon’s Indochina or no votes above two transparent boxes into which visitors could place their yes November?” a (1992), View Guarded Wilson’s Fred trustee). (then-Governor Rockefeller was a Museum in the painted brown mannequins dressed headless, sculptural installation comprised of four and signals the daily performance of guarding, museums, York security uniforms of major New of color) who protect art objects. the invisibility of the men and women (often As art- Her practice is more invested in institutional reflection than in overt critique. surface. we are the “It’s not a question of being against the institution: Andrea Fraser argued in 2005, ist what kind of values we institution- of institution we are, It’s a question of what kind institution. (2005:283). and what kinds of rewards we aspire to” what form of practice we reward, alize, , paggett, like Wigman before her, moves while wearing a mask. moves while wearing a mask. before her, Wigman like paggett, Center, In Nipper’s Weather She worked with a mask- appropriation. “primitivist” use of the mask is implicated in Wigman’s She was inspired by Japanese noh theatre. Wigman, according to Magito who, Viktor maker, “­ took this culturally specific art form and generalized it to achieve an indistinct f­i movement of Every “possessed its own personal life. she explained, feature-obscuring device, In Nipper’s video the mask refers to (42). the body evoked a changed expression of the face” Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

116 Jennie Goldstein 1930, andthefilmicstylesupportsthistheory. The footagemayhavebeenintendedtoserveaspublicityfor Wigman’s first Americantourin Dance IIsurvivesinstillimagesandasafilm, althoughthefilmrecordsonlypartofdance. Dance, alsoknownasWitch. DanceII Where the fixedmomentconveysactivepropulsion. vated offthefloorandarmsspreadwideoverhead. Wigman doesnotposeforposterity;instead ple, capturehermid-jumpandthebillowing, capelikecostumeinsuspendedmotion, feetele- and artifactsbothstillmoving. Extantphotographsof Wigman’s Witch, DanceI forexam- laborators toenactherworks, butherinitialpointofaccesstothesehistoriesisthroughimages circles backoverandacrossdancehistoricalcontextualdivides. Nipperrequiresexpertcol- the dance’s history. functions intheroleofimitator, howeverdeferential. Butamoreproductiveanalysishingeson the originalcreativeconditionofWitch Dance” (Wigman 1966:42). paggett(and Nipper, too) ment ofitsexpressiveworld, howintenselyItriedineachperformancetofeelmyselfbackinto nally inpreciselythesamewayasherpredecessor, who “loved it, thisgrowinginto theexcite- blatant reading:paggettisnotthechoreographerofthisdance;shecannotfeeldanceinter the dancingdifferencesin Wigman’s Witch DanceandNipper’sWeather Center. First, amost cal dancemustbeunderwayinWeather Center. There areseveralpossiblewaystoaccountfor stated. Absent Wigman-esque expressivity, somethingmorethanjustawilltorecreatehistori- ally tothesteadycountingofanoverlaidvoice;herbodyofferskinestheticfacts, plainly ing gesturalincantations, paggettiscoolanddistanced. Shemovesdeliberatelyyetunemotion- Europe” (Funkenstein2005:841). Where Wigman’s bodyisexplosive, hersplayedfingersevok- characters [that]evokedpaganreligiosities, onceassociatedwithpolytheismandpre-Christian that institutionallegacywhileusingthemasktoalternateends. of non-Western historythatFosteridentifiedinthemid1980s, Nipperconscientiouslyrefersto serves todullitswearer’sexpressivepotential. And ratherthancontinuingthemuseumification of summoningatribalessenceadriftfromitsculturalspecificity, themaskinWeather Center ing toNipper, “expression iscompletelywipedaway” (Velasco andNipper2010:202). Wigman’s costumingbutnottoheruniversalizingintent. When paggettwearsamask, accord- 33. 32. 31. actually quitedifferentfromtheoriginal. paggett’s performanceof Wigman’s choreography, howeverconsideredinitsreenactment, is Shifting Shapes brocaded dresswithahighneckandwideopeningsforeacharm. Herbodyisnearlysubsumed, Nipper’s video, however, directlyreferstotheGermanchoreographer’srevised1926Witch As wehaveseeninboththelivesegmentofFloydonFloorandWeather Center, Nipper of the Modern Boston; Art, Dialogue, 1890–1980 (1982–83) at the Institute for Contemporary umentation has also been screened or projected in several museum exhibitions, including mentary See Manning (1993:303). The film footage is included in Allegra Fuller Snyder and Annette MacDonald’s docu- modern (historical) dance operates in contemporaneity (see Franco 2013). reviews, and consulted with former Wigman students. Barba shares with Nipper an interest in considering how 1930–31. For choreographer,rary who in 2013 presented solos from his reconstruction of nine short Wigman’s first US tour in The affective results of (Velasco and Nipper 2010:202–03). The dancer is recognized through movement, through the body. It’s getting rid of the false front of the face you remove the mask, it’s just like if you take the first layer of skin off the face Weather Center, paggett’s mask is blood red, a detail obscured in the black-and-white video. Nipper explains: “If Nipper’s use of the mask is not only historically informed, but also intrinsically connected to the body. In Mary Mary the FireWigman, 1886–1973: “When Dances Between the Two Poles” doc - (1991). The fragmentary A Mary A Mary Wigman Dance Evening, Barba materials, made use of available film footage, documentary Weather Center different are from very those in the work of Fabián Barba, a contempo- 32 Wigman derivedhermovementsfrom “spiritual Witch DanceIisdocumentedinphotographs,Witch 33 Inthefilm Wigman appearsadornedinalong, — just blood and nothing more. Art & Dance: Images Danser Sa Vie Danser 31 Instead

- Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 117 - (Witch (Witch Hexentanz 1 Hexentanz Inventing Abstraction, 1910–1925: How a Radical Idea Changed Modern Modern Changed Radicala Idea How 1910–1925: Abstraction, Inventing Figure 9. Mary Wigman performing Wigman Mary9. Figure Rights Artists 2016 © Erfurth, Hugo by Dance I),(Photo 1914. Bonn) Bild-Kunst, VG / York New (ARS), Society - - Nipper interweaves research with structured improvisations for the sec- Nipper interweaves research with structured 35 the camera — moving out of sight.

— Seated on the floor of Seated on (2012–13) at the , New York. Art, New Modern of Museum the at (2012–13)

34 The role of Wigman’s mask and its relationship to the male gaze is crucial to Manning’s argument but is beyond beyond is but argument Manning’s crucial is gaze to the male to relationship its and mask Wigman’s of role The (1993:85–130). study this of scope the University Archive, Film Dance the by provided Manning in translation English (1993:129). Manning in Cited Rochester. of (2011–12) at the Centre Pompidou; and Pompidou; Centre the at (2011–12) Art Since the film excerpt of what is surely a stage, Wigman Wigman a stage, what is surely per with jarring, moves in time cussive accompaniment. When cussive accompaniment. the drums she is not moving, is Wigman and cymbals stop. and the positioned straight on until the camera is held steady for dancer propels her body ward, picking up speed with picking up speed ward, her leg at each straightening of smack the knee and subsequent At foot. of her floor-pounding retreats in this point the camera distance an attempt to maintain between the apparatus and the It is only at this gesturing body. as the camera wob- moment, bles slightly and angles down to maintain the centrally framed dancer that the viewer is forced to attend to the fact that there is someone else operator Dance II ends before Witch energy propulsive Wigman’s sends her into an erect position, scholars and artists alike rely upon still photographs and contem- Critic Rudolf reconstruct this dynamic choreography. poraneously written criticism in order to he wrote, “Like a giant,” to standing. from seated “powerful swing” Wigman’s Bach described the Now it leaps around in a circle, phantom-like figure rears up in the space. “the red and gold, throwing the hands of the speeding arms perform a kind of spurting right foot is thrown out, (1933:29–30). action” 34. 35. Witch not present in Witch and a mask, much of her obscures Dance I, face. in which paggett, like Wigman, stands, executes a series of rotating ges- stands, Wigman, like Center in which paggett, tion of Weather working modes enable Nipper’s archival and improvisatory and then returns to the floor. tures, “sustainability of recorded and repeated information as it the as she claims, her to explore, for Dance is, Because this segment of Witch 2012). (Nipper changes from one form to another” For the por her artwork cannot be rightly understood as a copy. without an original, Nipper, Nipper moving-image counterpart, Center that operates without a documentary, tion of Weather and paggett must construct a moment of dance history. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

118 Jennie Goldstein SCALA/Art Resource,SCALA/Art NY) by Jonathan Muzikar; digital image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by wall. The Museum of 23 Modern December 2012–15Art, April 2013. (Photo with footage of Wigman performing Figure 10.Installation viewoftheexhibitionInventing Abstraction: 1910–1925 ers Nipperhasrepeatedlyrecalledhisfirmbeliefthatchanging hismindwasalwayspermis- for almost10years. Kaprow’sinfluenceloomslarge;in describingherprocesstointerview- and inasimilarcapacityforartistperformanceinnovator Allan Kaprow, apositionsheheld experience workingasaprofessionalarchivistfortheGettyResearch InstituteinLos Angeles Nipper’s research-basedprojects. Herstatusasanarchive-driven artistderivesfromheryearsof understanding oftheshiftingshapedisciplinedance. see but herroleextendsbeyondwieldingthecamera. Nippershapes morethanhowweliterally do theyinWeather Center. Nipper’scameraworkbringsourattentiontoher bodilypresence, cameras thatmakephotographicdocumentationpossibleshapehowweseeWitch Dance, sotoo ries move, butsotoodoesNippermove be utilized, altered, andeditedintoanew, projectedproduct. paggettmoves, Wigman’s histo- ist’s reimaginingofWitch Danceatoncederivesfromandresultsinsomuchfilmedfootageto 36. speed inmovingthatsamedirection, ormovedcounter[to]thatdirection” (2012). [in] themovement,” andinresponsethecameraeither “moved inthesamedirection, laggedin her Nipper considered Wigman’s tendencyto “send everythinginonedirection” whileperforming it alignswithherdurational, ratherthanrupturing, practice. While filmingpaggettmoving, is crucialtoherworkingprocessand, likethedancehistoriesshemanipulatesandreforms, tracks laidonthefloorinahalf-circle), Nippershottakeaftertake. Thisrepetitivemethod Notational theories, photographs, filmedfootage, and publishedreviewsformthebasisof Nipper’s of dance and filmmaking historians and curators) areies umbrella, (and art less likely to consider visual this artists closely related mode ant upon screen technologies. Because screendance as a field of study operates primarily under the dance stud- Nipper’s description of her filmic processes echoes thosewho usedmake screendance,by artists or dances reli- Witch Dancereenactedbypaggett. Weather Center’spans, zooms, andeditsevokeNipper’s Witch Dance. “The eyesfollowthedirection[of]bodyoralimbthrustofweight Weather Center and screendance practices. Witch Dance II projected onto the gallery — despite the clear formal and methodological resemblances between like artworks — behind thecamera, outofoursight. And justasthe

ing thedollythatranalong (particularly whenimplement- the tripodorofftoside Center. Standingeitherbehind to capturefootageforWeather second dolly-mountedcamera ­tripod-mounted cameraanda tively active. Nipperuseda the frame;camera iseffec- visible bodilyactionbeyond centered dancer. There isno era’s focus, backtothere- full attention, andthecam- view. A suddenjerkshiftsour to takeplacebeyondour if someotheractionisabout move tothedancer’sleft, as pectedly, thecamerastartsto documentation. Then,unex- cent oftheWitch DanceII resulting footageisreminis- within theframe, andthe video, paggettiscentered At thestartofNipper’s 36 The art- The Kelly Nipper’s Weather Center 119 - - 47, 47, 140:91–112. 110:51–79. 110:51–79.

the critical understanding of dance available at the moment any reconstruction takes of dance available at the moment any and the critical understanding

Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. MA: Cambridge, University Press. Ashgate. Los Angeles. 3:63–76. 46, Journal Dance Research October 55:105–43. Critique of Institutions.” 2:346–55. is a malleable entity comprised of its docu- Dance is a malleable entity Witch Center acknowledges that Weather requires Nipper to both select discrete his- Engaging the discipline of dance as medium . Dresden: Carl Reissner. Dresden: Carl Reissner. Das . Mary 1933. Wigman-werk Rudolf. Bach, NC: Duke Durham, 1962–1964. Theater, Dance Judson Body: Democracy’s (1983) 1993. Sally. Banes, UK: Farnham, . Avant-Garde The Ballets Russes and the Parisian Modernism on Stage: 2012. Juliet. Bellow, of California, University PhD diss., “Choreographing Bodies in Dance Media.” 2009. Harmony. Bench, October Aesthetics.” and Relational “Antagonism 2004. Claire. Bishop, October Authenticity.” Outsourcing “Delegated Performance: 2012a. Claire. Bishop, London: Verso. . Politics of Spectatorship Art and the Participatory Artificial Hells: 2012b. Claire. Bishop, Whitney.” and MoMA, Tate, “The Perils and Possibilities of Dance in the Museum: 2014. Claire. Bishop, Art Metropole. Museums Toronto: 1983. Artists. by ed. and Peggy Gale, A.A., Bronson, Administration to the Aesthetic of Art 1962–1969: From the “Conceptual 1990. Benjamin H.D. Buchloh, Bristol: Intellect Books. . Site and Screen Artists’ Cinema: Space, The Place of 2009. Maeve. Connolly, London: Routledge. The Modernizing of Modern. Dance : 2004. Roger. Copeland, Artforum Galleries.” and People in the Artworks, “Merce Cunningham: Dancers, 2008. Douglas. Crimp, References Institutional 2011. Critique: An Anthology ed. . of Artists’ and Blake Stimson, Writings Alexander, Alberro, ious mediations, whether live or stilled, annotated or textually described, repeated or lost. repeated or lost. or textually described, annotated stilled, whether live or ious mediations, a shifting shape (in “the environment is recognizing that process involves Nipper’s mutable Goldberg 2009:85).” ments for history within a contemporary Nipper can present possible alternatives As a result, place. Laban’s precise gestures, expressive Wigman’s Nipper and paggett call upon Together, work. The the video installation. pedestrian movement in order to complete and Judson-era scales, were recognized at their instan- of these elements and modes of making revolutionary qualities Nipper can render these histo- the full breadth of the 20th century in view, with Yet, tiation. or eradicating what came as contemporary works that resist supplanting ries and ideas of history choreography into her own Wigman’s Nipper filters of movement,” “the science Using before. of Judson dance. Laban and through the lingering valences sustained interest in She posi- their evolving historiographic presence. torical instances of dance and to consider highlighting less-examined continuities rather than tions these elements as operating together, but dance, Her artistic practice foregrounds the subtle workings of promoting opposition. and dura- Her delegated disciplinary boundaries. also models a conscientious attitude toward and the time the training of dance practitioners, tional collaborations respect dance’s autonomy, Center encour While Weather and physical execution. required for choreographic development Nipper creates a Instead, it does not do so as dance. ages a reconfigured field of dance history, one that expands the possibilities of the artistic medium. work of visual art, sible (Velasco and Nipper 2010:200; Goldberg 2009:90). This stance has allowed her to work This stance has allowed 2009:90). Nipper 2010:200; Goldberg and sible (Velasco Center of which Weather Floor project, ongoing Floyd on the around the open-ended, within and across its var and utilizing dance it fosters thinking about however, More crucially, is one part. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01 October 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00550 by guest on 01October 2021

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