I took a quick trip to NYC this past week and spent a couple of mornings at MOMA.
What drew me to MOMA (as opposed to any of the other places in New York) was the "On Line" exhibit, currently showing into February. This exhibit promises a look at one hundred years of drawing, 1910 to 2010, examining how artists over that time expanded the concept of drawing.
The exhibit is lively and kind of fun, with sculptures and film, as well as works on paper and other supports. Mostly, though, it felt like jokes about line, one-liners, puns, cleverness about line.
One of the things I like best about it is a short film, silent and in color, dating from 1897-99. Called Dance Serpentine II, it features a dancer wearing silk robes containing bamboo rods, moving the robes and herself through space, as lights change the color of the robe. The overall feeling, as Paula describes it, is "Kabuki like." Here's a link to a film of Dance Serpentine, a version with Loie Fuller (the dancer and choreographer) performing, dating from 1896.
The video I've linked to of Dance Serpentine is still inspiring, over one hundred years later. It's under a minute long, and well worth viewing. I am amazed by the early use of color film, something I did not know existed then. And I like the cleverness of the dance.
Loie Fuller was part dance innovator, part applied scientist (she pioneered in lighting). She inspired many artists in her career and she lives on in their works and in her own, with choreography that is still influencing modern dance.
The photographs I've posted were taken by me with my husband's i-phone. The first is a view into the courtyard, the day after last week's snowfall.
The second is of visitors to the permanent collection. The paintings are by Modigliani.
