The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presents The Way You Look (At Me) Tonight, a sensory journey by leading disability activist and artist Claire Cunningham and award-winning choreographer Jess Curtis that explores the way society perceives people
In this new work at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the two performers dance, sing, and tell stories within a collage of original music and video, prompting introspective moments and self-reflection.
As the performers examine their own ways of seeing each other -- as a man and woman of different ages, physical abilities, and backgrounds -- so the audience members are asked to look at themselves and their ways of looking as well.
Accompanied by live music by Matthias Hermann, Cunningham and Curtis weave elements of dance and song into an ongoing conversation about the ways their physical limitations and appearances shape the paths they take, including opening up new possibilities for engaging with the world. At one point, Cunningham demonstrates a swooping dance movement using her crutches that Curtis tries—and fails—to duplicate. Their conversation is punctuated with videos compiled by media artist Yoann Trellu of Dr. Noë, who responds to questions about perception raised by the performers.
