Dance the world 1, 2010

Marie-Jo Lafontaine is a contemporary conceptual artist born in Belgium. She is best known for her sculpting and videos, but she also works with textiles, tapestry, video installations, still photography. Some notable works by Marie-Jo Lafontaine include Dance the World! (2008) which is a lyrical film documenting dancers performing Flamenco and Tango; Steel Tears (1987) which is a video sculpture; or Babylon Babies, which is a series of portrait photographs of teenagers in large format on monochromatic backgrounds, published in book format. Marie-Jo Lafontaine focuses her works on human existence in all its varied forms. Some have identified her photography as being documentary in style. Perhaps existential in theme, her compositions capture the beauty or intrigue of the world around us, or bring us to see people completely without contextual references which might sway our opinions in one way or another. Her work encourages seeing the world differently than might be expected, leading us to thoughtfully consider her created environments or experience natural images with new eyes. In addition, Marie-Jo Lafontaine’s books have been published in several languages including French, German and English, and are now carried in libraries and book stores around the world. Lafontaine’s art work has been exhibited at the LACMA, the Tate Gallery, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. (Artist website)