Michael Smith, Excuse Me!?!…I’m looking for the ‘Fountain of Youth’: A Ballet in Three Acts, 2015 (still). Video, color, and sound. Produced in collaboration with choreographer Stephen Mills, Mayo Thompson, and Ballet Austin. Courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York. Photo: Michael P. Garza

Threshold is an exhibition project consisting of a new video installation and performance by Michael Smith (b.1951, Chicago) in consultation with dancer and choreographer Deborah Hay (b.1941, New York), commissioned by Alex Klein. Smith is known for his long-running alter egos and satirical critiques of white American culture, consumerism, and masculinity, which often blend performance, video, and installation. Hay, a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, has spent decades developing a distinctive choreographic practice rooted in minimal movement and deep perception, using the limitations of the aging body as a source for experimentation.

Deborah Hay, My Choreographed Body...revisited, 2019. Commissioned by PEAK Performances at Montclair State University, NJ. Produced by Tanz im August and HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Courtesy the artist and Harry Ransom Center, Austin, TX. Photo: Camille Blake

Threshold will explore movement and agility, humor, patience and tolerance, and the difficulties of adapting to contemporary culture. The exhibition marks a first collaboration for the artists: Smith will be responsible for the visuals, art direction, and script, while Hay will participate as a movement consultant, workshop leader, and choreographer. The look and feel of the installation will be loosely based on an amalgam of different board games. Smith and a cast of performers will enact the seemingly simple tasks of trying to get through one’s day. These actions will be choreographed by Hay, drawing on her extensive experience working with untrained dancers and use of everyday minimal forms. Hay’s work will extend into the gallery through a live performance with untrained performers of a certain age. 

Michael Smith, Excuse Me!?!…I’m looking for the ‘Fountain of Youth’, 2014. Ink and watercolor on paper. Courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York

While Smith and Hay are often associated with New York, this exhibition at The Contemporary Austin acknowledges their contributions to the local art scene through their work as mentors, friends, teachers, and advocates, providing them a meaningful opportunity to celebrate their individual connections to Austin. 

Michael Smith, Drinking Water Routine, 1982 (performance view). Produced by Randolph Street Gallery, Chicago. Courtesy the artist

Alex Klein is Head Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Contemporary Austin where she works alongside the curatorial team to shape the exhibition program at the Jones Center and steward the sculpture park at Laguna Gloria. Most recently she has curated projects with artists including Carl Cheng, Jiab Prachakul, Lubaina Himid, Guadalupe Maravilla, Manik Raj Nakra, and Sable Elyse Smith. Prior to her current role, Klein was Senior Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania (ICA Philadelphia), where she originated numerous exhibitions, publications, public programs, and online initiatives. She has also held positions with the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Hillman Photography Initiative (Pittsburgh), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Roski School of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California (USC), and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). She has published widely and is a founding member of Museums Moving Forward.

Alisa Polischuk, Creativity Explored (CE)