Virtual Studio Visits: Simone Forti • MOCA

Join us for MOCA’s Virtual Studio Visits series led by MOCA Director Klaus Biesenbach as he digitally connects with artists around the world for studio visits. This week features artist Simone Forti. This talk was pre-recorded on January 16, 2020 and will now be available on MOCA’s YouTube channel.

Artist Bio:
Simone Forti (b. 1935 Florence, Italy) is a dancer/choreographer/artist/ writer based in Los Angeles. A seminal figure in the history of dance, performance, and body-based practices, Forti has been at the forefront of artistic investigations relating to movement improvisation. Forti’s work informs viewers to experience the intricate dynamics between movement, bodies, objects, language and sound that she has pioneered for more than five decades.

In 1955 she began dancing with Anna Halprin who was doing pioneering work in dance improvisation. In 1959 Forti moved to New York where she studied at the Merce Cunningham Studio, and began working informally with choreographers including Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainer, and Steve Paxton. In the spring of 1961 Forti presented a full evening of pieces she called Dance Constructions, at Yoko Ono’s loft studio. These pieces proved to be influential in both the fields of dance and visual arts, and have been performed around the world since their development.

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Virtual MOCA is presented by the MOCA Thrive Fund courtesy of Chara Schreyer.