on the avenue, 164 fifth avenue... nyc. april 2009.last month while running errands on fifth avenue, i was teased by a huge storefront sign: EVERYBODY DANCE NOW. i stopped outside just long enough to see that it was an AIGA exhibit, which was even more curious: what was the premier design association's interest in dance?
i was in too much of a hurry on that day to stop in--i hit the road again with only the tune stuck in my head...
i returned another day to investigate further: the exhibit is actually called "everybody dance now: 20 years of dancing in print" and is a retrospective of two publications, dance ink (1989-1996) and 2wice (1997-ongoing), published by patsy tarr and designed and art directed by abbott miller, a partner at pentagram.
there is, on pentagram's site, a tidy overview that puts both the exhibit and the publications into context to those of us who are not (yet) familiar with the work, and they have posted some beautiful photos from the magazines.
rob besserer, of the erstwile white oak dance project, photographed by duane michals for a 1996 issue. via pentagram.
the merce cunningham dance company photographed by christian witkin for the summer 2002 issue. via pentagram.if you are able to get to the AIGA national design center, you will see these and many more: there are 40 issues presented in succession, on accordion-style metal displays.
the 2008 issue, false start, featuring jonah bokaer. installation photo by harry zernike. via pentagram.
i don't know if the displays were created specifically for this installation, but it is a wonderful way to experience and celebrate movement--there's symmetry and energy to the exhibit. there are also intact issues of 2wice for folks to peruse, but the ladies that were there when i was were too engaged with them to let me have a look. ah well, i wanted to go back again anyway.
if you would like to check it out, get there soon! it closes may 22. here are the deets:
164 fifth avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets), nyc
gallery hours: monday through thursday: 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m; friday: 11:00 a.m–5:00 p.m.
***
there is a wonderful quote from merce cunningham that adorns the walls of the gallery, and i've been thinking about it often since my first visit:
"you have to love dancing to stick to it. it gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. it is not for unsteady souls."
but the essence of his statement is striking...
i recently took a dance/stretch class at my gym with an instructor who encouraged me to take formal lessons. this felt like the scariest, greatest idea in the universe. i'm not sure there is anything that makes me happier or feel most like myself as when i can listen to music and dance around--not in any formal way, at all. i just do it. for hours. and i have taken classes here and there, but never really studied it. i wondered, for me, at this point in my life, what would be the point?
but the cunningham quote reminded me that "dancers" (and maybe this is truer for those who are not now and will never be professionals?) dance precisely for how it makes them feel.
the point need not be grander than that.
