Tuesday, September 13, 2011


I came across this incredibly intriguing photo by the way of twitter some weeks back, and it really grabbed my attention. I immediately tried to understand what was exactly going on in this photo; why are these people all gold? It seems as if they are in motion, why the ballet shoes?

After further research, I learned that the figures in this photo are indeed suppose to be in motion and that this is a photo from an exhibit entitled, Momentum. Momentum is a collection of artwork by the New York based artist, Lorna Simpson, and this exhibit is centered around a particular occurrence in her life that has stayed in her mind and conscious into her adulthood. At the age of eleven, Lorna performed a ballet routine at New York's Lincoln Center.

"I was very surprised by a powerful sense of reversal while performing," she recalls. "I had this intense urge to occupy the role of observer, as opposed to being immersed in my well-rehearsed effort. I [wanted] to satisfy my need to be the spectator of this performance." -quote from nowness.com

And this explains the continuous spins performed by the dancers and silent pauses that are shown within the video that is also a part of this exhibit. It shows that as she performed, there were moments of her putting herself into the audience, mentally, to see herself performing as she is indeed performing the actual act. Truly mind-blowing and very interesting to say the least. Within this exhibit there are also photos of Avery Fisher Hall and the Metropolitan Opera House printed in gold ink, as they compliment her memory of a performance that initially lasted for only a couple minutes that have left an impression on her memory for a lifetime. I truly enjoy this exhibit and its abstractness, yet relatively to the human memory and intellect... LOVELY!

Lorna Simpson, Momentum (2011) from Salon 94 on Vimeo.



Momentuen: more on the exhibit
Lorna Simpson: her website

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