Off the Wall: Part 2 — Seven Works by Trisha Brown 

AF — Welcome to the Whitney Museum. I’m Andrew Fisher, museum educator. 

CK — Hi, my name is Christine Kim, CK for short, museum educator and artist. This exhibition is “Off the Wall: Part 2 — Seven Works by Trisha Brown”. Trisha Brown is an American dancer/choreographer. She established a dance company in 1970 with a focus on experimental, contemporary dance, breaking away from the traditional perspective of dance. For example- What is dance? Contemporary dance can break the rules. Does it have to follow the traditional dance moves and happen on the floor? Or can one dance having their feet parallel, perpendicular, or in the opposite direction of the floor, or even on the wall? Yes, it’s possible! Brown’s dance allows for this and specializes in breaking away from a traditional dance perspective. Does the dance take over the space or does the space take over the dance, are the two connected, or does one influence the other? This is a gray area. The boundaries of installation art, performance art, and dance blur, becoming its own art form. 

AF - This is the Trisha Brown Company’s second performance of “Man Walking Down the Side of a Building” at the Whitney since 1971. Dance itself was really revolutionary at that time. There’s no story behind Brown’s dance, as in most traditional dances. One is fascinated by the form of the dance itself. The experience of watching is different because we watch her as she comes down the side of the building. Our perspective is different, we see the sky in the background-we see her against the sky. Also as I watch her I imagine what it would feel like to be in her shoes. I can see her use all of her muscles as she performs. My perception makes me think of her physicality. Compared to my experience of watching dancers on the stage, this is quite different.