In 2018, artist Rashid Johnson travelled to Aspen and went on a hike – taking in the spectacular views from Smuggler’s Mountain. The experience inspired ‘The Hikers’ (2019), his 16mm film, which was shot on location on a Colorado mountain peak. The work captures two young dancers from the Martha Graham Dance Company who meet while wearing masks reminiscent of African tribal art. While one dancer descends a mountain trail the other ascends, performing a graceful ‘pas-de-deux’ as their paths cross.
Created in collaboration with choreographer Claudia Shreier, ‘The Hikers’ emerged from Johnson “thinking about the Black body moving in space – what the repercussions of that were, the dangers, the opportunities”1. The artist was conscious of the “long history” associated with movement and dance, and their associated iconography. “Part of my instruction to Claudia was to help reexamine what the Black body moving in space can feel like,” he explains. ‘The Hikers’ sets out to challenge stereotypical preconceptions around athleticism and dance with which the Black community is often associated. At the same time, the work is also a reference to the traditional, socially regulating and sometimes occult dances of African tribes. The balletic movements of Johnson’s subjects, pushed by the engaging rhythms of the beat are seemingly spontaneous, yet tightly choreographed.
The themes explored in the film reflect Johnson’s personal belief that artists “are forced to engage with the complexity of our time” – a purpose which, he believes, will inspire some “to become more ambitious, more thoughtful, more engaging, more sincere”. Poetic and thought-provoking, ‘The Hikers’ reacts to wide-ranging political and social confusion felt, not only across the United States, but around the globe. With its powerful meeting between two figures, the film also reflects on a desire to connect: “People of color recognize the existence of one another,” Johnson explains. “Oftentimes, when people see each other in such circumstances, there’s this kind of joy – almost love”2.
‘The Hikers’ is closely linked to Johnson’s wider studio practice, which questions notions of identity, cultural norms and the dichotomy between the natural and spiritual worlds. “A lot of the themes stay fairly consistent for me, thinking about escapism, the individual, the existential, the philosophical,” he reflects. “Like most of us it naturally evolves in baby steps […] This is where I was, and where am I now? When I ask myself those kinds of questions, you see the work transitioning, using some of the same signifiers – some of the same tools. My toolbox is all I have. I only have the tools that I bought with me so I'm going to continue to use them. And when I add another tool, then you see another element in the project”.
The newly acquired film is on display in “Reimagining: A Better World”, an exhibition set in our virtual UBS Art Gallery that brings together works from the UBS Art Collection that invite us to imagine a better future.
