The Dance c. 1908

Curator: What a graceful piece. Standing before us is "The Dance," a bronze sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh, created around 1908. Editor: The bronze gives a sort of restrained energy, doesn't it? She's all fluidity and lightness, caught in this lovely, quiet moment. It reminds me of watching the seasons turn. Curator: Potter Vonnoh had such an interesting focus on capturing everyday moments. Her works have a certain timeless charm to them. Note how the sculptor employs asymmetry in the tilt of the figure's head and the draping of her gown to convey naturalistic movement. It avoids being too academic; this has a spontaneity most others miss. Editor: I get what you mean about her capture of everyday movement. Her Art Nouveau touch creates so much motion. Look at those swirling lines in the skirt. It's almost like you can feel the air moving around her. Also, consider what the bronze does—a kind of cool stillness—that stillness invites us in. It allows her dance to become, in my own imagination, my own dance. Curator: It also brings forward some elements of Portraiture, although here she isn't tied down by replicating physical likeness, she is allowed freedom. I also can’t help but notice the almost wistful posture, hinting at both the joy and transience of the moment, typical of Art Nouveau. It's all in the details, the curve of the neck, the delicate fingers. Editor: Absolutely, and you know, it's funny, something about this dancer also makes me think about time—like how beauty transforms but the emotion sticks around in what endures. I am fascinated that Potter Vonnoh allows for so much interpretive input in how one sees the very "dance" enacted here, it isn't specific to anyone and I enjoy how available her intent feels here. Curator: Vonnoh has offered us a portal into beauty through form. Editor: And, perhaps more subtly, she's offered a window into ourselves as the dancers, even as the bronze holds her still for an eternity.