Miki Yamanaka | Human Dust Suite III: Tummy | Single
Human Dust Suite takes its name and inspiration from Hungarian-American conceptual artist Agnes Denes’ striking photograph “Human Dust”. Produced in 1969, the subject of Denes’ photograph is, at first, startling: a mound of human remains after cremation. When Yamanaka first encountered the work on display at The Art Institute of Chicago, she realized something obvious, yet deeply profound: “in the end, we all end up the same way.” This moment inspired her to compose the “Human Dust Suite”, each movement representative of a different body part. Each title symbolizes something greater that leads to happiness - like Movement III, “Tummy”, inspired by a love for food and nourishment, and IV, “Feet Go Bad First”, because, as Yamanaka says in her liner notes, “how awesome to be able to walk and to run.” This introspective meditation on humankind speaks to the strength and unity of humans, as a response to the scene of human frailty that Denes’ artwork seems to conjure.
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