William Forsythe. Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time

William Forsythe (*1949, New York) has been active in the field of choreography for over 50 years. His work is acknowledged for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification with classical repertoire to a dynamic 21^st century art form.

In the context of the transfer of the William Forsythe Archive to ZKM, »Nowhere and Everywhere at the Same Time, No.2«, will be shown in one of the atria of ZKM. This installation preserves and privileges two central interests in Forsythe's work: Counterpoint and unconscious choreographic competence induced by choreographic situations. Suspended from automated grids, hundreds of pendulums are activated to initiate a sweeping eleven-part counterpoint of tempi, spatial juxtaposition, and gradients of centrifugal force, offering the spectator a constantly morphing labyrinth of significant complexity.

The spectators are free to attempt navigation in this statistically unpredictable environment, but are requested to avoid coming in contact with any of the swinging pendulums. This task, which automatically initiates and alerts the spectator’s innate predictive faculties, produces a lively choreography of manifold and intricate avoidance strategies.