Marcel Dzama: The Book of Ballet (La chose la plus incroyable dans le monde)
Publisher: David Zwirner Books / New York City Ballet
Publish Date: 2016
Text by Hans Christian Andersen. Interview with Marcel Dzama and Justin Peck by Lucas Zwirner
Marcel Dzama’s prolific output as a draftsman has, in recent years, expanded to include works in many different media—film, sculpture, dance, collage, and even a recent collaboration with artist Raymond Pettibon are all part of his current practice. His at times surreal, often frightening vision, translates beautifully to film and dance, where actors in complex costumes bring to life the worlds Dzama draws on paper.
Published on the occasion of his collaborative ballet with choreographer Justin Peck and musician Bryce Dessner at the New York City Ballet, The Book of Ballet documents the genesis of all aspects of the project. The gem-like booklet begins with “The Most Incredible Thing,” the Hans Christian Andersen story on which the ballet is based, and continues to present Dzama’s costume designs. The images not only show final design decisions, but also chart the changes in costumes as the project unfolded, and the ways in which Dzama’s conception of the characters in the ballet shifted over time. The book closes with a conversation between Dzama and Peck in which choreographer and artist discuss the nuances of their collaborative process, and the important role of renowned composer Dessner in bringing the project to life. Also included is a poster made specifically for this book by the artist.
Details
Publisher: David Zwirner Books / New York City Ballet
Artist: Marcel Dzama
Contributors: Marcel Dzama, Justin Peck, Lucas Zwirner
Publication Date: 2016
ISBN: 9781941701270
Retail: $20 | £13 | €18
Status: Not Available
Designer: Marcel Dzama, Matthew Polhamus
Printer: VeronaLibri, Verona, Italy
Binding: Softcover
Dimensions: 9 x 6 in (22.9 x 15.2 cm)
Pages: 48
Reproductions: 37 color
Artist and Contributors
Marcel Dzama
Since rising to prominence in the late 1990s, Marcel Dzama (b. 1974) has developed an immediately recognizable visual language that investigates human action and motivation, as well as the blurred relationship between the real and the subconscious. Drawing equally from folk vernacular as from art-historical and contemporary influences, Dzama’s work visualizes a universe of childhood fantasies and otherworldly fairy tales.
Marcel Dzama
Marcel Dzama was born in 1974 in Winnipeg, Canada, and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Since 1998, his work has been represented by David Zwirner, and he has exhibited widely both in the United States and internationally.
Justin Peck
Justin Peck is a Soloist and the Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. Peck grew up in San Diego, California, where he studied at California Ballet for two years. In 2003, he began training at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet. He was named an apprentice in 2006, joined the NYCB corps de ballet in spring 2007, and was promoted to Soloist in February 2013. Peck choreographed six works for New York City Ballet in two years—In Creases (2012), Year of the Rabbit (2012), Paz de la Jolla (2013), Take-Offs and Landings (NYCB MOVES, 2013), Capricious Maneuvers (2013), and Everywhere We Go (2014)—and was named Resident Choreographer, the second in the Company’s history, in July 2014. During the 2014-2015 season, he has createdBelles-Lettres, which premiered at the 2014 Fall Gala, and ‘Rode,o: Four Dance Episodes, which premiered during the winter season.
Lucas Zwirner
Lucas Zwirner is Senior Director, Sales, and Vice President, Business Development, at David Zwirner. In addition to establishing the ekphrasis series and spearheading the award-winning podcast Dialogues, Zwirner also helps lead select digital initiatives, including Platform, a standalone company founded in 2021. He is also a writer and translator, whose work has appeared in The Drift, The Paris Review, and An Elias Canetti Reader, edited by Joshua Cohen and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he studied comparative literature and philosophy.
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