The Last Dance, 1994

Known for his kinetic, conceptual, and highly imaginative works, New York artist Dennis Oppenheim created an installation entitled The Last Dance/La última danza for a gallery space at the Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños of San Diego. The piece consisted of four pairs of cacti forms spinning together in a disjointed dance to a cacophony of music emitted from a number of 1940s radios, a record player, and a bass drum randomly beaten by a mechanized pedal. The seeming chaos of the disharmonious music and the spinning cacti figures—that both strive for closeness, yet at the same time present harm to each other—suggests relationship, especially between two cultures, where elements come together, sometimes clash, and always intertwine.

Curator: Lynda Forsha
Organizers: Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños and Installation Gallery
Venues: Children’s Museum/Museo de los Niños, San Diego