Artist: Santtu Mustonen

One thing living just outside the City (NY) is not only the wonderful things it offers, but the fact that we have easy access to the “world of art” it offers.  Last evening one of my sons invited me to go with him to the “Artist Series” featured at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, collaborated with the New York City Ballet.

As one who majored in Dance and “Modern Ballet”, more along the instruction of Alvin Alley, dance is an art that I have always truly admired.  I should add that my son took dance lessons when he was younger also, and is now an artist, so the experience touched us both in every artistic way.

When you get to Lincoln Center, just standing outside in the Theater Promenade, with the flowing fountain, one already has a feeling of the excitement of entering something special. For the past five years, Lincoln Center has been presenting the “Art Series” featuring a particular artist whose animations, painting and photographs are exhibited in the Lobby of the Center.  It is easy to understand why this artist was chosen this year to be featured with the New York Ballet; they both featured art, movement, and animation.

                    Lincoln Center’s Performing Art Promenade  –                                     Santtu  Mustonen Painting

The featured Artist, was Finnish artist, Santtu Mustonen who uses dance for a different kind of inspiration in his work. Combining abstract, handcrafted visual imagery with new technology, Mustonen makes visual art that literally moves. One work which was completely mesmerizing was his 40’ long floating art, called “Metamorphosis, whose dancing lights and shapes influenced by the movement of dance and nature of waterfalls and moving abstracts.  His thoughts of composition are summed up in his statement, “with all the tools we have, I can make a work move almost like a dancer.  I see a lot of connections to dance in my work”.  So, it was no wonder that his work was chosen to represent the New York Ballet.

NYC Ballet Dancer in “Moves”

 

Once inside the Lobby, one starts the evening with a glass of Champagne before being seated in Lincoln Center’s spectacular Theater, reminiscent of the “Golden Era”, a time when the Astor’s and Rockefeller’s, were seated in their box seats.  The Ballet was broken in to three segments, “Glass Pieces”; “Moves”, and “The Concert”, all complimenting the “movement” of Santtu Mustonen’s “Movement of Art”.

Artist within his own “Floating” Work of Art

 

After two hours of being transported through the various “artistic” visions in Dance, as we left the Theater, each person was presented with a Silk Scarf from one of the artist, Santtu Mustonen’s, work of art (a replica of the painting at the top of this article).

               Lincoln Center for the                                    Performing Art –                     New York City Ballet