The Reaccession of Ted Shawn

Project by Adam H Weinert
Video by Philippe Tremblay-Berberri

With The Reaccesion of Ted Shawn, Weinert returns the choreography of Ted Shawn to the museum entrusted with preserving it. Shawn, a seminal force in American modern dance, sought out the latest in technology to create and preserve his work and also opened up definitions for what dance could be. Shawn made a gift of his works to MoMA in the 1940’s, but the museum later gave away these materials. Weinert contends that if he had been considered an “Artist” they would not have been able to do so. MoMA’s own policies are such that they do not sell or give away works by living artists and Shawn was living at the time of his deaccession.

With The Reaccession of Ted Shawn, Weinert returns the choreography of Ted Shawn to the museum entrusted with preserving it. Shawn, a seminal force in American modern dance, sought out the latest in technology to create and preserve his work and also opened up definitions for what dance could be. Shawn made a gift of his works to MoMA in the 1940’s, but the museum later gave away these materials. Weinert contends that if he had been considered an “Artist” they would not have been able to do so. MoMA’s own policies are such that they do not sell or give away works by living artists and Shawn was living at the time of his deaccession.

The Reaccession of Ted Shawn turns your smartphone into a time machine, allowing you to see performances by Weinert and Shawn using augmented reality technology. By following directions on the project’s website which walks the viewer through five floors of the museum, the mobile app is able to recognize architectural details and museum signage in order to display the digital installation on your screen. The MoMA map is also “rigged”, allowing you to take aspects of the exhibition home with you or view them online.

Shawn was a champion of new technology in his day. I wanted to bring his legacy into the 21st Century and challenge the dynamics for how dance is presented in museums, which stories are told, and who gets to be seen. - Adam Weinert

This project uses the dance-tech Augmented Reality app
http://dance-tech.tv/2012/10/24/augmented-reality-app/

This project was enabled by the dance-tech Augmented Reality residence
http://www.dance-tech.net/page/dance-tech-augmented-reality-creative-residency