THIS IS A CALL TO PAY ATTENTION!! This art exhibit is hanging in the hallway on the first floor of the Michigan League, so you don’t even have to change any part of your normal day to see this amazing exhibit. Just the next time you walk through the Michigan League, pause for a few minutes and enjoy the gallery around you. WARNING: this exhibit will only be in the League until November 30th, so make sure you walk through the League this month. Maybe plan to host you next club meeting in a League room, this way you can share this exhibit with your friends.
This gallery is photos of dance. The artist Yi-Chun Wu travels around the US taking photos of dance shows. I had the chance to speak with her and she mentioned that New York is one of her favorite places to take photographs because there are so many shows because dancers congregate in New York and there are performances everyday. I realized that I have spent a lot of time in New York (these past two summers in fact) but have never seen a dance performance while I was there. Thankfully I will be going back and seeing a dance show is on my bucket list. The photos Yi-Chun took are very intimate and can be a close up of the dancer. This can be hard to believe, but she actually takes many of these photos from only a few feet away from the dancer. I’ve only seen dance performances from far out in the audience and seeing these photographs offers a closer perspective that shows the facial expression, intricate clothing, and muscle tension of the dancers.
I asked Yi-Chun why she is captivated by taking photographs of dance and she mentioned it is because she enjoys capturing the in-between moments of motion. Dance is often continuous and fast-paced, capturing specific moments of a dance is a different way of viewing dance than we are used it. It focuses on the relationship of the dancers face and expression and how their body is shaped at a specific moment in time. It also shows the importance of lighting and shadow in dance.
I posted photos of my favorite pieces. Because of the glare from the lights in the League and the quality of my phone camera (it is not an iPhone), my photographs aren’t the most clear, but these photos will give you an idea of what to look for in the League. If you would like, please comment which photographs were your favorite!
