At the Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France, the Lens of Baryshnikov
Above: a photo from “Dance This Way”
By the Caribbean Journal staff
A new exhibition at the Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France in St Barth is featuring the photography of world-renowned dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
The exhibition, called “Dance This Way,” is being presented by Space SBH — Contemporary Art Gallery. It lines the corridor of the hotel’s main house, where it will stay for the month.
Baryshnikov took a series of photos of dancers using slow shutter speeds, with the aim of bringing out “the beauty of the movement through his eyes,” the property said. The solo exhibition has already traveled to Venice, Tel Aviv and Miami.
“For two decades I used a conventional 35mm camera, and practiced traditional landscapes, portraits and travel shots in primarily black and white. I made a point of rejecting obvious opportunities to photograph dance, thinking the results were boring and unnecessary,” Baryshnikov said in a gallery release. “Then, going through some old books of dance photography – notably Alexey Brodovitch’s Ballet, and Paul Himmel’s 1954 Ballet in Action – I discovered that abandoning the crystalline image in favor of blurred edges and amorphous figures approximates the excitement of dance in performances.”
Above: the Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France
The property, which is the newest addition to the LVMH Hotel Management portfolio, recently completed a three-year renovation that saw the addition of the La Cabane de l’Isle beachside restaurant and updated decor on the rooms and public spaces by Bee Osborn of Osborn Interiors.
The hotel has also debuted the La Case de L’Isle Champagne Lounge, which features champagne houses like Moët & Chandon, Ruinart, or Dom Pérignon hosting pop-up lounges on the edge of the hotel’s swimming pool each month.
