In 2012 Danspace Project presented two historic Platforms, Parallels and Judson Now. In 2013 we continue to explore artistic constellations and lineages. What web of connections do new generations of artists trace? Who are their influences?

This season we will ask each artist to share a significant artistic influence. Below is Benjamin Kimitch’s response:

Benjamin Kimitch:
I am becoming aware that my influences come from pretty disparate places – historic, cultural, and artistic – and I try to be conscious of the context of each influence, and (what’s been more interesting) look into the deeper influences behind each influence itself.

In the past year, some things at the forefront of my mind, in no particular order: Maurice Sendak, Trisha Brown’sGlacial Decoy, Lucinda Child’s Dance, Dai Ailian’s Fei Tian, John Cage talking about Coke bottles and time, Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Tang dynasty court dances, the Dunhuang caves, conservation efforts at the Dunhuang caves, Merce Cunningham’s CRWDSPCR and BIPED, act 1 scene 1 from Einstein on the Beach, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Fase, Christian Marclay’s The Clock, Sarah Michelson’s Devotion Study #1, Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love, Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces, Vaslav Nijinsky’s L’apres-midi d’un faune, my 2001, and Peking Opera in its most traditional form.

I don’t yet have a total understanding of what my dance work is, and I hesitate to identify a singular, primary artistic influence that informs this work. There is clearly a connective core that lives through all my disparate influences, and that intangible core is what keeps me excited and asking questions. Through all of this, I look forward to the future influences that will help me understand the impulsive pull of the old ones.

Benjamin Kimitch. Photo: Jessy Price.

***

Shared Evening: Aretha Aoki / Benjamin Kimitch runs February 14-16, 2013 at Danspace Project