Eiko and Koma at the BAC
I went with my 15-year-old son to see Eiko and Koma’s retrospective and the installation of their piece ‘Naked’ at the Baryshnikov Arts Center this evening. It was a remarkable performance, unlike anything I’ve seen. Very peaceful but with an undercurrent of rustling, rain, feathers, straw, and an audience in close proximity with the performers. Contemplative, hypnotic, it gets under your skin.
Later, when I felt it might have had a chance to sink in, I asked Leo what he thought of the performance (and the several video recordings of earlier works playing in an adjacent room). He said he felt it was a little slow for him. We then got into a lengthy discussion about modern art, pouring paint onto canvases (and IS it art?), where does the impulse to move come from, what is choreography, what was going on in Eiko & Koma’s minds during their performance, how does telescoping time affect the way you perceive something in a performance context…
The usual stuff…
That’s what a Dad is supposed to do, right? I’m asking myself. Expose his kids to stuff that they might not otherwise seek out, and give them a way to wrap their heads around it. I think it helps to open the mind. And an open mind is a good thing, in my book.
This evening I feel pleased with myself, in a very unsmug way…
And if you’re in NYC, Eiko and Koma are at the BAC through Saturday. It’s very much worth seeing.
http://www.bacnyc.org/index.php/events/performances/eiko_koma
