Michelle Ellsworth, recently named a college professor of distinction, discusses the intersection of technology, ancient thinkers and language
Michelle Ellsworth is a dancer, but her art encompasses more than what is traditionally viewed as dance. As The New York Times noted in 2018, “her eccentric and marvelously original art defies easy categorization.”
At the top of the page: Jadd Tank demonstrates Ellsworth's "over-the-counter counter-terrorism" protocol for avoiding surveillance (protocol No. 5: hiding in furniture) in her performance of "Clytigation" at the Chocolate Factory in November, 2015.
For starters, Ellsworth, a college professor of distinction in theatre and dance, recalls a time in which she created “fake rocks,” made from concrete poured into a mold, each containing a hamburger in the middle of the concrete.
What is the artist’s intent?
“There are so many ways to read a work” of art, Ellsworth says. “I have personally always resisted suggesting any particular read of my work, but today I’m going to try.”
That’s how Ellsworth introduces her video presentation that commemorates her being named a 2020 college professor of distinction. In normal years, professors of distinction discuss their areas of expertise in front of a live audience on campus. This year, the honorees are doing pandemic-friendly presentations.
Other recent winners are Robert Pasnau of philosophy, Elspeth Dusinberre of classics, and Pieter Johnson and Katharine N. Suding of ecology and evolutionary biology.
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