In the Hammer Museum's 'Made in L.A.' biennial, dance moves back into the picture
Made in L.A. 2018 is the fourth iteration of the Hammer’s biennial exhibition, continuing to highlight the practices of artists working throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. This year's lineup includes ten alumni from the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, representing more than 25 percent of the artists selected. The exhibition is organized by Hammer curators Anne Ellegood and Erin Christovale. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue, as well as a full roster of free public programming. Refer to the UCLA Arts Calendar for the full listing of events and exhibitions at the Hammer Museum and across the School.
"The Hammer Museum’s “Made in L.A.” biennial opens Sunday, and among the 32 artists in the show are two experimental dancer-choreographers known for their work in alternative spaces.
Taisha paggett and WXPT perform "evereachmore" in 2015 at the Los Angeles River. (Gina Clyne) Flora Wiegmann and taisha paggett fit right into the mix, curators said, considering that the body and body movement turned out to be important topics in this year’s “Made in L.A.”
“Having dancers in the space and having movement shown is very much in dialogue with other artists in the show,” said Hammer senior curator Anne Ellegood, who selected Wiegmann and paggett with assistant curator Erin Christovale.
But dance does have special requirements, including the need for a changing room and a place to warm up. And because the dancers don’t perform every day, the Hammer has given paggett and Wiegmann gallery space to create related visual installations for museum-goers who might otherwise miss their contributions to the show.
For decades, experimental dancers have had a special niche in art galleries, but the practice is on an upswing at museums.
The Whitney in Manhattan and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis are just two of the important visual arts spaces where dance has a regular profile. At the 2016 “Made in L.A.,” choreographer Adam Linder won the equivalent of the “best in show” prize, the $100,000 Mohn Award.
Paggett and Wiegmann expressed optimism at the greater inclusion of dance in the art world. But they also sounded a cautionary note.
“I’m glad to see more people doing projects in galleries,” said Wiegmann, who last year was artist in residence at the El Segundo Museum. “There are people that have such deep practices, that I’m hoping dance gets given the space [it deserves] and is not just presented as a special event.” —Laura Bleiberg, Jun. 3, 2018
This post is an excerpt, read the full article on the Los Angeles Times website.
Read more about Made in LA 2018 here.
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