Collecting Choreography

Collecting Choreography is the first major study on the history of dance and performance acquisitions in art museums. Turning to the Museum of Modern Art’s 2015 acquisition of Simone Forti’s Dance Constructions (1960–61), a groundbreaking achievement for both the choreographer and the museum, Megan Metcalf examines how performance, especially dance, has informed the experience of preserving and exhibiting contemporary art. Metcalf tracks Forti’s performances from their first appearances in the early 1960s to their institutional acquisition, arguing that dance is still novel for institutional collecting even as it has long been present in museums. In doing so, Metcalf shows that the art museum’s interest in continuing certain dance legacies offers an important yet contested site for “preserving” live performance for the future, while theorizing a larger choreographic model underlying contemporary art and institutional practices in museums, fairs, and biennials worldwide.