Six Yards of Memory
“Six Yards of Memory”- a photographic exhibit of Ranee Ramaswamy’s collaboration with photographer Ed Bock, screen-printed on a six yard long sari - chronicles her 25-year choreographic journey
Major goal:
Since 1990, I have worked with Minneapolis photographer Ed Bock. From the first image of my 1992 show Mirabai Versions to the stunning visuals for 2014’s Song of the Jasmine, Ed has created hundreds of photos that have been seen nationally and internationally. These images have been on posters, flyers, in magazines and newspapers, tracing the evolution of my work and bringing it to the public eye. It can be very difficult for a dancer to visualize how to transfer their kinetic world into the two-dimensional world of photography. Inspired by the visceral emotion in my dancing, Ed’s technical craftsmanship and aesthetic viewpoint helped create countless successful images that have appealed to presenting organizations and media outlets worldwide. In all these years, Ed has never charged a fee for his exquisite work because of his belief in my vision.
Recently, I was looking at artwork for Song of the Jasmine in the lobby of the Cleveland Museum of Art and realized how each of these images is the result of 25 years of deep respect, friendship, and understanding for each other 's work. Reflecting on our unique artistic relationship, I was moved to showcase this collaborative journey. “Six Yards of Memory” will be a retrospective photographic history of my work as seen through Ed Bock’s visuals.
Using photographs taken over the last 25 years, “Six Yards of Memory” is a six-yard long exhibit of images silkscreen printed on saree fabric. Six yards represents the length of a traditional Indian saree, which I have worn throughout my life, and is also the material from which bharatanatyam costumes are made.
Ed and I will draw from our memories of each shoot and production to create a narrative arc of stories about the performance and the people who made those collaborations possible. Each image represents a meeting point of emotion, movement, and visual technology, and embodies various cultural partnerships.
Just as a weaver artfully turns threads into beautiful sarees, the images and stories will weave together my journey as a newcomer from India into an established choreographer. The exhibit is a celebration of how Bharatanatyam has become woven into the fabric of MN culture and the various hands that have played a part in this legacy.
Process:
This project is like reading a personal diary after 2 decades. My work involved time with photographer Ed Bock, who has countless images stored on various hard drives or analog files. We went through hundreds of images to find the most relevant ones and converted the older ones from analog to digital formats. In the1990s the images were black and white negative and color transparencies, which we had to review one by one. The chosen files were then scanned, formatted together and designed, and screen-printed. A lot of went to research the best kinds of saree material to use and how best to exhibit the work.
My daughter, Ashwini Ramaswamy, an English Literature major at Carleton College and worked for Penguin Publishing Group for several years helped me with the text. We looked through the years of postcards, posters, and videos to help rekindle memories and appropriately create the stories to go with the photos.
Proposed Steps:
Ed Bock goes over each photographic session and collects all photographic material.
Ranee looks through the 25 years of work to pick out appropriate images.
Ashwini secures a space for the exhibit
Convert the files and scanning them in chronological order
Ashwini and I collect and document anecdotes, learning processes, inspirations, cultural exchanges, etc
Ashwini creates the write up
Research and select the saree material ideal for screen printing
Create the saree print
Exhibit the art saree and inviting the community to a public discussion.
Since I arrived in 1978, the city, the dance community, and audiences have grown. This project will be an introduction to my work for some, a rekindling of memory for others, and a tribute to those who helped me over the course of my career. I look forward to remembering not just the productions themselves but the surrounding conversations, failures, fears, successes, and people who made them possible. This project will show the creative community how an immigrant artist put in a lifetime of work to change the landscape of the arts in Minnesota.