Jon Sasaki

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Jon Sasaki, “A Rest,” 2016-20

HD video, silent, black and white, 10:20 min. (performance by James Phillips; performance cinematography by Lee Henderson. Thanks to the Toronto Dance Theatre and the Art Museum, University of Toronto. Archival images courtesy the Chicago History Museum and Carol Martin, “Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture in the 1920s and 1930s”)

The dance marathon craze took off in the early 1930s during the Great Depression. While the marathons were entertaining, they were also a means of survival for contestants. As long as people kept dancing, they were sheltered and fed. Cash prizes were often more than a year’s wages. 

While the rules for marathons varied, dancers typically had to remain in motion throughout the contest and would be disqualified if their knees touched the ground. Participants often rested, or even slept, as their partners held them, keeping them in motion and ensuring their knees stayed off the ground.

Toronto-based artist Jon Sasaki’s video, A Rest, on view in the lobby of the School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg until March 13, revisits this bygone era. It portrays a fatigued dancer, James Phillips, left without a partner as he assumes the positions of exhausted contestants. The performance is displayed on a split screen, with Phillips on one side and historical photographs documenting pairs of contestants in dance halls on the other. Unlike the photographs, Phillips’ weight hangs in the air, unsupported, in an empty room. 

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Expand

Jon Sasaki, “A Rest,” 2016-20

HD video, silent, black and white, 10:20 min. (performance by James Phillips; performance cinematography by Lee Henderson. Thanks to the Toronto Dance Theatre and the Art Museum, University of Toronto. Archival images courtesy the Chicago History Museum and Carol Martin, “Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture in the 1920s and 1930s”)

The camera zooms in on Phillips' body as his muscles shake, struggling to hold his weight. The tendons in his feet shift and strain to maintain balance. Even without seeing Phillips' face, it’s easy to sense his desperation to hold the position and keep his knees off the floor. 

As the performance continues, the poses are harder to maintain without a partner, and Phillips becomes increasingly unsteady, until, at last, he collapses.

A Rest was created before the pandemic, but the act of leaning on someone who is physically absent resonates strongly now, encapsulating the emotional fatigue we are feeling after months of social isolation and extended lockdowns. In choosing to exhibit it now, curator Blair Fornwald is asking: “Who supports us? Who are we supporting? And how long can we keep going?” 

×

Expand

Jon Sasaki, “A Rest,” 2016-20

HD video, silent, black and white, 10:20 min. (performance by James Phillips; performance cinematography by Lee Henderson. Thanks to the Toronto Dance Theatre and the Art Museum, University of Toronto. Archival images courtesy the Chicago History Museum and Carol Martin, “Dance Marathons: Performing American Culture in the 1920s and 1930s”)

Physical touch and social interaction are basic human needs, but they have become dangerous during these unprecedented times. Zoom calls and other virtual communications are a way to socialize, but often leave us wanting more. Nevertheless, to contain the spread of COVID-19, and prevent a third wave of infection, we must continue to isolate ourselves and follow precautionary measures that have grown exhausting. 

Just as the economic recession spurred by the pandemic is comparable to the Great Depression, our exhaustion and desperation is echoed in the dance hall photographs. Amid the pandemic’s second wave, as vaccines trickle out to the public and new coronavirus variants arise, it’s clear the crisis will not end any time soon. Coping with this reality remains a marathon. ■ 

Jon Sasaki: A Rest at the School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg from Jan. 21 to March 13, 2021.  

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