MoMA Presents PERFORMING HISTORIES with TOKYO 1950-1970 and INVENTING ABSTRACTION thru 4/15

In conjunction with Inventing Abstraction
Kelly Nipper with Japanther
Tessa Pattern Takes a Picture
Dancer and Rehearsal Director: Marissa Ruazol
Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis Instruction: Ed Groff
Music Composed and Performed by Japanther
Production Assistants: Sean C. Flaherty and Claire Nereim
January 30, 7:00 p.m.; January 31, 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1

In this new commission, Kelly Nipper delves into thematics such as focus, contrast, exposure, gradient, and ritual, tracing the ways in which these notions run through-and shape-both the medium of photography and 20th-century choreography and movement theory. The piece is partially inspired by Nipper's research into various subjects, including the choreography of Mary Wigman, Laban Movement Analysis, and the processes and formal qualities of photography and the camera. In parallel to the working methods of certain turn-of-the-century avant-gardes, the development of this work has been pointedly and profoundly collaborative; each choice is made in counter-tension or response to the existing dynamics of the performance, with each collaborator working into, through, and against the others.

Fabian Barba
A Mary Wigman Dance Evening
February 1, 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1

For A Mary Wigman Dance Evening-a program of nine solo dances-Fabian Barba takes as his starting point choreographer Mary Wigman's celebrated first tour through the United States (1930-31), during which she performed nine dances. Of these, only three were preserved on film, and so, to "reconstruct" the remaining six, Barba has resorted to photographs, hearsay, written records, the historical imagination, and subjective interpretation. Ultimately, the work proves less focused on recuperating any kind of authentic original, and more engaged in testing the possibility of transporting some of the atmospheric, gestural, and affective qualities of Wigman's dances-all while acknowledging both the supplement and the loss incurred by translation, and taking pleasure in the fundamental differences between bodies.

Performing Histories will continue in March 2013 with performances by Simone Forti and Andrea Geyer. Further details and schedule are to be announced.

Related Exhibitions:

Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, on view November 18, 2012, to February 25, 2013, is the first museum exhibition to focus on the city of Tokyo during the remarkable period from the mid- 1950s through the 1960s, when the city transformed itself from the capital of a war-torn nation into an international center for arts, culture, and commerce. Tokyo 1955-1970 draws from MoMA's collection of Japanese works across curatorial departments in addition to over 100 works on loan from important public and private collections in Japan and the United States. The exhibition is organized by Doryun Chong, Associate Curator, with Nancy Lim, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is co-organized and supported by The Japan Foundation.

Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925, on view from December 23, 2012, to April 15, 2013, explores the advent of abstraction as both a historical idea and an emergent artistic practice. Commemorating the centennial of the moment at which a series of artists invented abstraction, the exhibition is a sweeping survey of more than 350 artworks in a broad range of mediums- including paintings, drawings, prints, books, sculptures, films, photographs, recordings, and dance pieces-that represent a radical moment when the rules of art making were fundamentally transformed. The exhibition is organized by Leah Dickerman, Curator, with Masha Chlenova, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art.

The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019, (212) 708-9400, MoMA.org Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday Museum Admission: $25 adults; $18 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $14 full-time students with current I.D. Free, members and children 16 and under. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs). MoMA.org: $25 adults; $18 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $14 full-time students with current I.D. No service charge for tickets ordered on MoMA.org. Tickets purchased online may be printed out and presented at the Museum without waiting in line. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs). Film Admission: $12 adults; $10 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $8 full-time students with current I.D. (for admittance to film programs only)

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