Elizabeth Streb Performs Man Walking Down the Side of a Building
Elizabeth Streb walks down the north façade of the Whitney, October 2010. Photograph by Alix Finkelstein
On October 1, as part of Off the Wall: Part Two: Seven Works by Trisha Brown, award-winning choreographer and dancer, Elizabeth Streb performed an historic recreation of Brown’s Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. The performance took place on the north facade of the Whitney. Brown first presented Man Walking Down the Side of a Building in 1970 from the rooftop of her SoHo loft. Since its debut, there have been few performances of this work— and none by a woman. Known as the “Evel Knievel” of dance, Streb has cited Brown’s challenges of the conventions of contemporary dance as the inspiration for her own extreme action choreography.
Trisha Brown and Elizabeth Streb embrace at the end of the performance, October 2010. Photograph by Alix Finkelstein
The performance began when Streb slowly was lowered until she was perpendicular to the wall. The tension was evident, both in the taut equipment that kept Streb from falling and in the visible effort of the performer as she struggled to keep herself fully upright while moving forward and downward. Within minutes she had reached the sidewalk platform and, as Brown rushed up to embrace Streb, the crowd cheered.
By Alix Finkelstein, Education intern
