In 1974 Jim Allen presented the performance Contact at the Auckland Art Gallery. Contact would come to be acknowledged as a seminal step in the development of a new radical art form in this country, moving away from the static object into live action. The importance of Allen’s role in New Zealand, as an artist and an educator, can be seen in the work of subsequent generations of artists.

In 2011 Contact will be re-performed at Artspace, infusing new life into this historic work.
At its core Contact speaks about a release from social alienation through collective activity—literally ‘making contact’. The three elements—Computer Dance, Parangole Capes and Body Articulation/Imprint—deploy formal structures in which the interplay of bodies use movement, form, sound and light to strive for transcendence.


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Performances at Artspace, 300 Karangahape Road, Auckland


Saturday 5 March, 6pm
Computer Dance

Saturday 12 March, 6pm
Parangole Capes

Saturday 19 March, 6pm
Body Articulation/Imprint

Contact 2011 is presented at Artspace with the support of Michael Lett and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.

ENDS