Our final caregivers support group event at MOMA, put on by Arts and Minds in partnership with NYU Langhone Alzheimer’s Family Support Program, we discussed how “dance” as a theme connected otherwise-unrelated pieces by three great artists.
Photographer Malick Sidibe captured the cultural excitement that its young generations experienced as Mali transitioned from colonial rule to independence in the first photo, Christmas Eve, Happy Club. It’s the end of the night from the looks of the empties strewn around and one or two tired-looking observers, but the dancing couple, her in bare feet symbolizing relaxation and joy, both shyly avoiding eye contact yet dancing perfectly synchronized, look like they’re just getting started.
The version of Matisse’s The Dance in MOMA’s collection was actually a compositional study for a pair of paintings (the other being Music) commissioned by Sergei Shchukin, one of his patrons. The light strokes, bright color, and carefree feel of the study make it a superior work compared to the final piece.
Slow Swirl at the Edge of the Sea is, according to his son Christopher, Mark Rothko’s love letter to his wife Mel, whom he’d just met when he painted it. Our educator suggested that he was influenced by Matisse’s removing, repainting, or overpainting elements in The Red Studio (1911) while others quote Rothko as saying that it influenced his color field series. Rothko created this vibrant yet delicate surrealist portrait of the couple; while it’s not clear the couple are dancing, there’s enough action lightly rendered to make comparisons to the other works valid.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.