Over the last two years Roland has been experimenting with the creation of sculptural forms with masks presented by dancers in open-air settings. This work, Sculpture Dance, continues an exploration of group and individual identity that culminated in the 2008 production of a multi-media performance piece, The Only Tribe.

These recent experiments at Storm King Art Center and on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution begin to unravel spatial relationships embedded in the intersection of identity, abstract sculpture, and landscape. The living time-based Sculpture Dance invites narrative interpretations by the audience. Performances can be dispersed over large areas to examine aspects of perspective – proximity, distance, and juxtaposition, all of which provide for suspense, then surprise and recognition when dancers appear closer and farther from each other, the audience and elements in the landscape.

Chautauqua credits:
Sponsor: Lake Arts Foundation
Dancers: Nancy Hughes (choreography), Gretta Sowyrda, Scott Slocum
Photographs: © 2013 Kay Chernush

You can watch a video of the experiments at Chautauqua here

Storm King credits:
Dancers: Peter Kyle (choreography), Fiona Brown, Kesa Huey

You can watch video of the Storm King experiments here

© 2020 Roland Gebhardt