Antwerp's MAS lets dancers explain the art
A new show at the MAS museum in Antwerp adds an extra layer to experiencing the art, but can make for a daunting experience
No words
Encounters is a collaboration between MAS and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), currently closed for renovations. Curated by KMSKA’s Paul Vandenbroeck, it features nearly 100 paintings, sculptures, tapestries and audio-visual works dating from 6000 BC to the present day.
The well-known Flemish choreographer and dancer Pé Vermeersch has gathered together a team of international dancers to perform in the exhibition space. Their role is to act as intermediaries and create a link between the visitor, the artworks and time itself.
To minimise distractions, there are no explanatory panels next to the art – just a simple number. A booklet gives you more information – but intriguingly, not why the artwork was selected. The dancers are also wordless throughout their performance, which runs continuously for three hours, four days a week.
The dance process itself is a work of art in the making, so it is probably unfair to judge it on a 30-minute sample at the beginning of a three-month run. However, for this visitor, the dancers proved to be more of an annoying distraction than interpreters of art.
Also missing was a relationship between the works selected and the venue. What do they have to do with Antwerp, why are they here?
But that dissonance is compelling in itself; I can’t get this exhibition out of my head. It did force me to consider each work individually, and I will be back to see how the dance develops over the summer.
Until 20 August, MAS, Antwerp
