Art & Movement in the Museum

On Saturday November 13, fellow dance major Diane Skerbec and I went to the Collision: Art & Movement in the Museum MOCA Cleveland Workshop led by Jill Sigman. Included in this post is the flyer for the workshop. It was from 1-5pm, and if we were involved in the workshop, we received free tickets to see Danceworks perform that evening in the Trinity Cathedral.

This was a new experience for both of us and we were not sure what to expect. We were a little early for the workshop so walked around the museum for a bit. One exhibit utilized multi-media and was the combination of different pieces of art. The work showed black and white video footage of a man investigating the site of a serial killer. It was silent so there would be a few seconds of footage followed by text describing the situation. Also in this exhibit were drawings, sculptures, and clothing from the footage. It was very eerie, but I hoped that we would be able to explore it further through the workshop.

There were about fifteen of us. Most were dancers, but a few were artists or dancers dabbling in art. We began our study with Jill in the back room. This room contained artwork that could be touched, which was a relief. There were two walls and two pillars covered in a wallpaper style graphic art that had many shapes and colors. This piece really livened the senses and imagination. Along the wall on the other end of the room were four pieces of art created by students from four different universities, including Kent State University. When dancing “with” the Kent State artwork, I felt a sense of cameraderie because the dance program and art program were being connected in some way. We explored different structured improvisations before joining in groups and creating a short study that we showed everyone. We formed multiple groups and multiple studies with interaction with artwork and dancing “cinematically.”

After a short break, we moved into the exhibit I described earlier and created another short study that exemplified the atmosphere of the piece. There were four groups of 4-5 people and each study was no longer than 3 minutes. One group including the audience, and another used a curtain as a means of controlling what we saw. Because the exhibit featured such a heavy topic, every study was mysterious and melancholy. After this final activity, we had a short discussion before ending the workshop.

The opportunity to observe art in a museum and dance how it makes me feel is so rare, and I’m very grateful I went to the MOCA workshop. Experiences like that are not common and Jill was such a wonderful leader and guide. I would recommend a workshop like this to any pre-professional or professional modern artist.



--Jessica Kraft (BFA Dance Major)