Dancing as Art - Literally
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...then I'm blushing. Artist, April Quast, has been doing something magical - she has been turning dance into paintings (and artistic jewelry). It is nearly impossible for most fine artists to capture dance on a canvas. Dance moves too quickly, it's positions are often fluid. Even when there is stillness, there is an "energy" that is usually preparing to move. In dances such as West Coast Swing, the partnership moments are sometimes subtle and often times the beauty is in the potential energy before the actual movement.
April and I have formed an unspoken, artistic alliance. I am not only one of the dancers whom she has painted, I am a photographer who tries to capture the exact images of other dancers. April is able to utilize the photographs I have taken as an imprint of time. She then heightens movement, energy, lines and color to make amazing and almost-surreal imagery.
Here is example of how April and I have tried to capture "lightning in a bottle" - the ephemeral moment of a dance:
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I am looking forward to many more artistic works by April. It might mean that I have to take more pictures too.
Check out a great article on April Quast's web site called, "I Don't Get It: Understanding Abstract Art". It helped me understand how the artist sees art (I wish more artists would do this).
Update from Feb, 2011
Here is a new piece created by April Quast. It can be purchased at as part of February Hearts. Proceeds for go toward the American Heart Association.
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Photo Taken by Erik Novoa at New Year's Dancers: JesAnn Nail and Rajeev Hotchandani |
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