Angelika Rinnhofer on Jonas' performance at Dia:Beacon

Joan Jonas

The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things

A performance based on the writings of Aby Warburg
at Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries

Have you ever imagined what you could do with the fantastic space in the basement of Dia:Beacon? A lot of visitors of the museum ask themselves this question when they see the cavernous, hypostyle hall. Joan Jonas’s answer is to turn it into a performance stage with the depth of a football field, the acoustics of a concert hall, with projection screens moving between massive columns, to the sound of live piano music. Jonas’s The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things incorporates Dia:Beacon’s environment into a performance piece that introduces the viewer to German art historian Aby Warburg’s writings. Jonas, inspired by the Hopi Snake Dance, which she witnessed some 40 years ago, works with Warburg’s words about his experience with the Native American people. She fuses theater, dance, music, video, photography, costume design, and noise into a Gesamtkunstwerk that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Only two more performances are scheduled, Saturday, Oct. 22, and Sunday, Oct., 23 at 2PM.

Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries
3 Beekman Street
Beacon, NY 12508
845.440.0100

Angelika Rinnhofer

Joan Jonas performances at Dia:Beacon

The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things
Performances October 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 2 pm

Image: Joan Jonas, Lines in the Sand, 2004, The Kitchen, New York City.

Dia:Beacon
Riggio Galleries
3 Beekman Street
Beacon, New York 12508
www.diaart.org 845 440 0100
Incorporating movement, sound, live music and projected video footage, this site-specific performance is created in part in response to the writings of German art historian Aby Warburg made during his visit to the American Southwest in 1896. Jazz composer and pianist Jason Moran, who will perform live on the piano during the performances, has composed new music for this collaborative work. Tickets are $15 general, $10 students and seniors, and $3 for Dia members. Tickets include museum admission. Reservations are suggested; please call Dia:Beacon at 845 440 0100 x44.

Summer hours for Dia:Beacon are 11 am to 6 pm, Thursday through Monday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday), through October 17. Winter hours, 11 am to 4 pm, Friday through Monday (closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) take effect Friday, October 21. Dia:Beacon is easily reachable via Metro-North Railroad (the MTA's Hudson Line station in Beacon is within walking distance of the museum). Trains leave Grand Central Terminal for Beacon every hour. The 11:51 am train on Saturdays and Sundays arrives at the Beacon station at 1:17 pm. Full schedules are available on the MTA’s website at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/. The museum is also reachable by major roadways. Driving directions are available on Dia's website at http://www.diaart.org/dia/visitor/index.html.
Joan Jonas’s new commission for Dia:Beacon is made possible by the Dutchess County Arts Council; the Dyson Foundation; Jean Stein, JKW Foundation; and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Support for video production during this project was provided, in part, by the Renaissance Society, Chicago.