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An act choreographed by Himangini Puri, founder of Heavenly Bodies.
Performed at Tao Art Gallery
Contemporary art is the art of the 21st century.
It is surprising, captivating and limitless!
Avant- Garde Art of the 21st century:
Avant-garde originally a French term, means any artist, movement, or artwork that breaks with precedent and is regarded as innovative and boundaries-pushing. It first appeared with reference to art in France in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is the usage of the term is credited to the influential thinker Henri de Saint-Simon, one of the forerunners of socialism. He believed in the social power of the arts and saw artists, alongside scientists and industrialists, as the leaders of a new society.
Some avant-garde movements such as cubism are focused mainly on innovations of form, while others such as futurism, De Stijl or surrealism have strong social programmes. Although the term avant-garde was originally applied in nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it is applicable to all art that pushes the boundaries of ideas and creativity, and is still used today to describe art that is radical or reflects originality of vision.
The notion of the avant-garde enshrines that art should be judged primarily on the quality and originality of the artist’s vision and ideas.
One such path breaking moment that art world recently witnessed was bringing to live a static piece of art through the expression of dance, postures and body movements. Promoting this avant-garde movement, Himangini Puri, founder of Heavenly Bodies, aims to create immersive dance experiences by playing with body paint and movements.
The Act:
An artist defines his/ her art but eventually the same art becomes a part of the artist's identity. It is simple and safe to conclude that a piece of art is generally considered an inseparable aspect of its creator.
Ever imagined, if an artwork had a personality of its own? or if it had the ability to emote?
Bringing imaginations to reality, Himangini Puri choreographed a dance performance titled "Empathy - How and Why ?". Her act was supported by an independent body artist, Simran Oberoi, whose strong confident brush strokes encapsulated certain elements of artworks, that adorn the walls of Tao Art Gallery.
The act revolves around a simple yet strong idea, i.e, Empathy towards art.
"Not all spectators can empathize with the art they see. But they can empathize with what resonates with them."
-Himangini Puri
The act has been broken down into three sections:
In the first section, dance movements convey empathy felt towards the artworks of the dancer's choice. Simran Oberoi replicated the abstract art by Sujata Bajaj and vibrant flowers of Senaka's works on the dancer's body. The overall objective was to urge the audience to empathize with what was being communicated by the dancers via 'kinaesthetic empathy'. Kinaesthetic empathy refers to the ability to experience empathy merely by observing the movements of another human being.
The second section centered on conveying a more profound level of empathy, by communicating what the dancers felt with one another in a duet section. This was followed by a human chain that Puri categorically calls as the "Chinese Whispers". Chinese Whispers refers to a sequence of repetitions of a story transmitted from one to another.
This section focused on empathizing towards the Dutch post-impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh ate yellow paint thinking that consuming it would paint his insides bright and yellow and therefore make him happy. The artist metaphorically compared "yellow paint" to be something lovely.
Creating a symphonic trail through a Chinese whisper's chain of communication, the lead dancer expresses extreme empathy towards what Van Gogh felt while consuming yellow paint. One by one, the remaining three dancers gradually joined the lead dancer, empathizing with 'the little painter fellow', who we know as Van Gogh.
Puri was highly inspired by the Van Gogh Bust sculpture by Seema Kohli, on display at Tao Art Gallery. Simran Oberoi, replicated Kohli’s rendition of Van Gogh’s "Starry Night" swirls and strokes in her body art.
The final section of the act is based on empathizing with chaos and serenity felt simultaneously. One noticeable aspect was that the upper half body of the four dancers was moving sporadically and at a speed double times than that of the legs. This intricate dynamic in movement is created to offer a sense of bipolarity in human behavior. The act finally ended on a calmer note, expressing empathy not only towards the art but also towards the artists, viewers and everyone.
Words cannot do justice to this intriguing act presented by the duo - Himangini Puri and Simran Oberoi.
The act was beautifully executed by the dancers- Sairaj Methari, Prashant Ruperelia, Yesha Shah and Gia Singh Arora.