Before the Name Performance by Francesca Banchelli
Before the name is an investigation into Alain Badiou’s theory on the relationship between dance and thought, as considered in ‘Dance as a Metaphor for Thought’, (Dance as a Metaphor for Thought), part of the Petit manuel d’inesthétique written by the French philosopher in 1998 – (Handbook of Inaesthetics, A.Toscano trans., Stanford University Press., 2005).
Banchelli organises a system of flux in a continuous crescendo, interlaced by the intense crossovers between dance and thought, thus creating a minimal multi-layered connection between the artists, thinkers and public. Via the intensity of the movement, the sound and the words, the happening questions the meaning of an ‘event’, where the participants’ connections generate a sequence of contingencies.
Our desire to confront with the thought of one of the greatest living philosophers – who is at once present and absent – is then expressed through dance. During the performance, Badiou’s voice echoes in the space and his figure transforms into a sculptural presence, in accordance with the live music by composer Emiliano Zelada and the movements of the dancers Julie Cunningham and Harry Alexander. The symmetry between the texts by Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield and the bodies occupying the space is then cut by a non-narrative perspective, transforming the dialogue between the two into direct action.
Programme
SATURDAY 11 JUNE 2016, 7 pm
Venue: Museum galleries
Francesca Banchelli
Banchelli received her MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins (London) in 2010. Her works have been recently shown at: Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing, P. R. China (2015); SpazioK, Prato/Villa Romana, Florence, IT (2015); Italian Embassy, Berlin (2015); Wilkinson Gallery, London (2015); Capella MACBA, Barcelona (2015); Tate Modern, McAulay Gallery, London (2014); Official parallel event of the 13th Istanbul Biennial (2013); S1/Art Space, Sheffield (2012); New Capital, Chicago (2012); among others. In 2012 she was guest-artist of the Frankfurter Kunstverein Deutsche Börse Residency Programme and won first prize at ‘Portali dello Scompiglio’, Accademia dello Scompiglio, Vorno, Italy; in 2013 she was a finalist at LIVEWORKS Performance Art Award, Centrale Fies/DOCVA Viafarini.
With: Francesca Banchelli, Pier Luigi Tazzi, Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield, Emiliano Zelada and Julie Cunningham & Harry Alexander (from the Michael Clark Company, London)
Concept and choreography: Francesca Banchelli
Music: Emiliano Zelada
Texts: Alain Badiou – excerpts from: ‘The Event of Truth’ (2002) and ‘Toward A Positive Definition of The Infinite’ (2011), lectures given at The European Graduate School of Geneva. Jonathan Lahey Dronsfield: ‘10 engagements with Badiou’ on love from the perspective of one who distrusts him and ‘Paul Celan: A Conversation in the mountain (Spinoza reprise)’
Curated by: Carolina Ciuti
Duration: 35 mins
With the collaboration of: Instituto italiano (Barcelona); Michael Clark Company (London, UK);
Ponte Vecchio Gioielli (Florence, Italy)
macba [at] macba [dot] cat
Tel: 93 481 33 68