Simone Forti, Performance Art Trailblazer, Dies at 91
Simone Forti, an Italian-American pioneer of postmodern dance and performance art known for her Fluxus-adjacent “Dance Constructions,” died earlier this month in Los Angeles at age 91, her gallery Raffaella Cortese announced Wednesday night. Forti, who had Parkinson’s disease in later years, began the “Dance Constructions” in 1960, using simple props and instructions to prompt improvisation and chance-driven movement, including works such as See Saw (1960). Her approach influenced artists associated with Judson Dance Theater, including Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton, by rejecting hierarchies of movement and emphasizing sensory experience. Born in Florence in 1935, Forti fled fascism with her Jewish family to the United States and later collaborated with figures including her then-husband, minimalist artist Robert Morris, and dancer Anna Halprin.
From This Briefing
This story was covered in Strikes, Seizures, and the Art World Under Siege