Dear friends,
Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.
But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.
So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.
--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody
Simon Courchel
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| Simon Courchel (courtesy of the artist) |
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| Courchel in Jon Kinzel's Cowhand Con Man (photo: Scott Shaw) |
Simon Courchel is a freelance dancer and photographer, native of Paris, France where he studied dance, physiology, and art history at Le Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. He then worked in Europe with several choreographers such as Lucinda Childs, Russel Maliphant, Bertrand d’At, Yuval Pic, Jean Claude Gallota, Michel Kelemenis, Karole Armitage and Tero Saarinen. He also interpreted repertory works by choreographers Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, Georges Balanchine, Vaslav Nijinsky and Dominique Bagouet.
Later, he joined the choreographer Frederic Flamand and his team in Marseille, to collaborate with architects Zaha Hadid, Dominique Perrault and Thom Mayne in pieces that toured internationally.
Based in Brooklyn since 2010, Courchel has worked and danced with Carolee Schneemann, Fanny de Chaillé, John Jasperse, Tere O’Connor, Paul-André Fortier, Maria Hassabi, Yanira Castro, Yoshiko Chuma, Jon Kinzel, Brendan Fernandes and Rebecca Lazier.
Courchel also develops his own work as a photographer, and works at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn NY. www.simoncourchel.com
Do you have a current or planned project whose progress is affected by the pandemic?
Yes, unfortunately. I was about to start a new project with choreographer Jon Kinzel to be presented at Roulette in May. I was really excited to be back at work with Jon. It is always a delight of many facets to be in a process with him. He just came back from a residency to do research on the piece in solitude, I was looking forward to discovering what he imagined.
The evening was also shared with Vicky Shick. I was so thrilled to share the stage with her and her team.
Beside dancing, I am also a photographer. I had some photo gigs cancelled due to the situation.
Taking photos is my other art practice and motivation. Also a way to "make a living.’’
Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice.
I started to dance when I was 9 years old. And I should thank my little sister Julia for that.
Our parents just enrolled us at an after school, with the options of karate and jazz dance. Naturally, she chose dance, and I tried to go fight. We immediately both hated it. The following day, we switched without hesitation. It was such an emotion to dance, it just felt right.
Just the satisfaction of finally wearing on my legs, out in public, the tights I would put on my head at home to pretend that I had long silky hair.
I found a safe place in a dance studio.
In 2010 I moved to New York City and joined Lucien Zayan to work at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn. This is how I started taking images, photographing and documenting the life and activity of this space. The Invisible Dog is a unique place; I found another safe place.
In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning?
I have recently started a new photography project titled Confined View: a series of images taken from my windows. With photography, I create images that are driven by circumstances; images that thrive within clear boundaries. The life we are experiencing now creates this situation.
Similar to an audience gazing through the proscenium, I am drawn to one clear point of focus within the frame and the surrounding layers that texturize the subject.
This circumstance--restriction--unlocks a deeper investigation.
After identifying the formal structures that motivate the impulse to capture a first image, I use the same compositional principles and process to re-imagine and reconstruct the same subject and space.
With each image, we share in this experience of (re)discovery.
I try to highlight a larger series of moments that bleed into each other and form a deeper consideration.
I become a witness, striving to make each photograph a performance, a conscious set of choices, a nod to my background as a dancer.
How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about?
I care about the tragic, beautiful and inevitable ephemerality that is a movement and a moment; portrayed by both dance and photography.
How does your practice function within the world we have now?
I am trying to figure it out.
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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve as Senior Curatorial Director of Gibney. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.
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