Chinese-American artist Mimi Chen Ting, once found inspiration through movement. Now her paintings are inspiring BYU dancers to create movement of their own.
“Make Movement Visible,” is an exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art that honors Mimi Chen Ting – an artist whose pieces often combine abstraction and contemporary art.
On Oct. 1, student dancers put on a special performance inspired by the exhibition.
Jocelyn Thomas, a student choreographer for one of the dances, looks for inspiration through Mimi’s work.
"She doesn't use any kind of tools – so a lot of her art is very circular and very free so that kind of inspired me to create something – my solo – that is very free-feeling, very flowy, very circular,” Thomas said.
"What I would love visitors to get a sense of when they see the exhibition is a real understanding of movement in all senses of the word,” Miri Kim, a curator at the MOA, said.
Each dance was inspired by a particular piece of art, including a piece called “Last Songs,” which was the last piece Mimi worked on before passing away from cancer in 2022.
"Mimi's art continues to make connections even though the artist is no longer with us,” Kim said.
That connection became personal for some of the student dancers.
"I also felt connected to her just because our similar heritages – like, I'm half Chinese,” Thomas said.
"Because of this exhibition I have been able to connect with all the students on campus but especially with the students of color who have been so moved to see someone like Mimi and her life and art featured here,” Kim said.
Mimi’s family attended the performance and say seeing her work brought to life through dance was a gift.
The dancers gave audience members a new way to experience Ting’s work.