Exhibitions

Does the body rule the mind, or does the mind rule the body?

June 21, 2018 – August 12, 2018

Will Rawls, Cursor 1: Word Lists, 2018. Courtesy of the artist

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Independence Ave. at 7th St., SW
Washington, DC

This is the first exhibition in the museum’s history to focus on live performance art, presenting new and recent works by leading performance artists who mix avant-garde gesture with popular culture, expressed through the rigor and dynamism of contemporary dance. The works are presented as a free series of intimate dance and music performances designed specifically for the Hirshhorn’s circular galleries.

Does the body stages live performances alongside a larger ongoing presentation of moving image documentaries and recorded works that offer an introduction to the work of this contemporary generation of American artists. Each piece is inherently social, inviting visitors connect to the artists and to each other through playfulness, movement, humor, control, and liberation. Together, they challenge notions of how people construct identity through pop culture and the histories they tell each other.

Curated by Mark Beasley, Curator of Media and Performance Art.