New York based gallery, Sikkema Jenkins & Co is currently presenting an exhibition of Trisha Brown’s drawings, where the dancer and choreographer crosses between two mediums, by literally drawing through dance.
Entitled It’s a Draw (2002-2008), the exhibition consists of a collection of large scale drawings on paper recording Brown’s movement. Dance, relies heavily on motion, gesture, and distinct moments, and is primarily documented on film or still photographs. However, by attaching charcoal or pastels between her toes, and whether she is twisting, arching, rolling, or spinning, Brown intrinsically moves across the drawing plain, preserving her active motions on paper. By doing this, she is allowing us to envision her performing step-by-step in a continuous and fluid line.
In Untitled (Montpelier) 2002, we see the performance arch rise and fall reflective of story telling. From its initial fragmented staccato-like marks, to the thick lines, suggesting long and single circular foot patterns, again returning to quickly drawn rhythmic bounces, and concluded by dramatic floral-like explosions. We are left with ghostly remains and we can only imagine what Brown’s movements were, and rely on these clues to understand her intentions and interpret our own stories. Brown, who has always been adamant that the audience create their own interpretation of her work, gives us the opportunity to encounter only the mere suggestion of dance without technically ever seeing a single physical movement.
Sikkema Jenkins & Co is located at 530 West 22nd Street, New York. Trisha Brown’s current exhibition closes on January 25, 2012.
Trisha Brown’s Dance Center Foundation benefit auction is from January 9 through 26. View offerings here.