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Art Nouveau Style Symbolism in Loie Fuller's Dance

MalborgKim 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Loie Fuller was one of the most innovative dance artists of the twentieth century. In the beginning of the 20th century, she was the most famous dancer in the world though some people wondered whether she was really dancing. She broke the traditional concept of choreography and prepared the way for the development of modern dance. As a "magician of light", her work influenced not only future artists in modern dance, such as Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham, but also a whole range of poets, painters, sculptors and intellectuals. She brought both revolutionary dance forms and technical innovations in costume and lighting and made important contributions to stage lighting and to cinema techniques. She became the personification of Art Nouveau and the inspiration for many artists who idealizing her and portrayed her in a countless art works. Also she was an inspiration for poets as well as artists, she served as an ideal symbol of the symbolist movement. In this study, the developmental path of Loie Fuller's dance style was examined from her early career at the burlesque skirt dancer in vaudeville and pantomime show to her prime time and later days. Through the study of her style, this writer pinpointed that Fuller read and portrayed the spirit of her period into dance and that is the fundamental reason why she became an icon of that cultural era. This study explains how she was accepted and interpreted as a pioneer of Art Nouveau and symbol of the symbolist movement through the critics and artists writings and criticisms. But as a conclusion, Fuller seems to have had a curious sponge like quality in aesthetic matters, absorbing and embodying the influences around her, while remaining convincingly original and unshackled to any one label or category.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.