Nuit Blanche: An Ethnographic Art

For thousands of years, art has evolved and transformed and continues to do so day by day. Whether it is music, dance, film or visual art, these art forms are such an important part of history. In times past art was recognized and appreciated tremendously. In our society today, filled with technology people forget to stop and admire the wonders of art. From evening to daylight, the city of Toronto is converted by artists. People from all over gather in the downtown core to experience art in its range of forms. This essay will discuss how Nuit Blanche is an ethnographic art festival that allows individuals to discover art in its varieties. I will discuss how my night at Nuit Blanche play out, what I witnessed during the night and lastly how …show more content…
This piece “October sky” was the dancer’s interpretation of outer space, the stars and constellations. When the dancers would interact with us, that represented humans trying to uncover the mysteries of outer space through man made instruments like telescopes. Trying to figure out the ideas and history behind it all. As the constellations move through time slow and fast, the dancers also portrayed that through their slow sustained movements, or quick short movements. During my discoveries, I thought back to Deidre Sklar’s Essay “On Dance Ethnography”. I connected this to the dancers rather than the piece because this essay discusses how a group of people find or make meaning. The dancers could have portrayed this concept in many different ways. But they chose to embody what their interpretation of outer space was. I believe that these dancers examined dance through an ethnographic lens because they did in fact focus on dance as a kind of cultural knowledge. The dancer’s portrayed the idea of humans revealing the secrets that outer space has to offer. This allowed the dancers to analyze and create what they understand happens in space, but using their