Pas De Deux and Variation
2011
October 6 – October 27
Gallery X
Contributing Artists
Joel Parsons
Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS/SITE Archives:
Pas de Deux and Variation grew out of Joel Parsons’ conflicted relationship with classical ballet and the ideal it valorizes. In an attempt to navigate the territory between his simultaneous sentiment attachment and critical remove, Parsons refracts choreography created by his partner through multiple processes, each of which is grounded in his own self-taught ballet practice. Through a combination of sculpture, performance, and photography he extends himself, awkwardly but earnestly, into the opaque parts of another person, and in the process creates a space between the actual and the ideal, seduction and alienation, failure and success.
Through a series of unannounced performances of the choreography in the space, Parsons’ dance gestures work to create a permanent stage within the space that viewers are welcome to experience. Unpredictable and irregularly scheduled, the traces of Parsons’ performances are just as palpable in their absence as in their presence.
Programs
October 24, 2011, 12-1 PM
Paralax Gallery
Program statment from the SUGs/SITE archive:
“Join us in a panel discussion about our two ongoing exhibtions No More. No Less. and Pas de Deux and Variation with faculty member Shannon Stratton and artists Allison Wade and Joel Parsons this Monday October 24th. The Exhibition Panel will take place from 12pm – 1pm in 280 Project Space, which is locatedin the back room of Paralax Gallery at 280 South Columbus Dr. room 122. Shannon Stratton is a founder and current Executive and Creative Director of threewalls Chicago, a not-for-profit residency and exhibition space. Founded in 2003 threewalls has grown from a start-up exhibtion space to a vita visual arts organization that supports contemporary visual arts in Chicago through solo exhibitions for regional artists, residencies, grants to artists, publications, conferences and commissioning programs. Founded on the mission of better supporting visual arts in Chicago, threewalls aims to provide a stable base of support to extensive community of artists who call Chicago and greater Illinois home. Programmed in collaboration with a rotating committee of local artists, threewalls was modeled after teh classic Canadian artist-run-center model, a program that Stratton was inspired by growing up in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.”
Exhibition Material
Pas De Deux and Variation was featured in SAIC’s Events + Disruptions Fall 2011 newsletters.
This newsletter is stored in SAIC’s digital collection.