Sarah Michelson’s Delicate Fetish Play
Her 25-day dance at MoMA is meta, but it’s not about dance itself so much as a lifetime of collaborating with dancers.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is presenting Sarah Michelson's installation, "nowhere," through October 11. The exhibit consists of daily performances that delve into the life of a dancer, using direct yet indirect language to disarm and withhold. Performances include dancers, objects, and images that appear and disappear across the atrium walls.
Michelson's work has been described as an "autocannibalism," with the dancers performing in tape-wrapped stools associated with her previous works. The exhibit also features Michelson herself, press against a wall while being shot at by ping-pong balls, and two large silver sculptures of dancers, symbolizing the sexual objectification of dancers.
The performers, including Lauren Bakst and Juli Brandano, often wear revealing costumes and perform in repetitive and challenging ways, invoking a near-spiritual reverence for dancers. Michelson frequently interacts with the audience, explaining the exhibit's progression but never the purpose behind it. The exhibit is said to be in Michelson's "meta period," focusing on her life and work with dancers, rather than a dance about dance.
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