Supplemental Restraint System: Isadora Duncan

Supplemental Restraint System: Isadora Duncan Imprint – Frontal Passenger. [Reclaimed Deployed Airbag]
650 Dernier Nylon, waterbased printing ink, thread.

Bethany Shorb, 2010

A trailblazer of 20th-century dance, ISADORA DUNCAN also had a reputation for eccentric flair in her wardrobe, frequently adorning herself with long flowing scarves and Grecian-inspired robes. In the autumn of 1927 she climbed into her sporty new Amilcar automobile (though much lore states it was her Bugatti) while wearing an immense, iridescent flowing silk scarf. Duncan was the passenger of her handsome French-Italian mechanic, Benoît Falchetto. As the driver put the car in motion, Duncan’s scarf got tangled in the car’s rear wheel spokes and jerked tight, snapping her neck and instantly strangling her.

Before getting into the car, she reportedly said to her friend Mary Desti and some companions, "Adieu, mes amis. Je vais à la gloire!" (Goodbye, my friends, I am off to glory!). However, according to American novelist Glenway Wescott, who was in Nice at the time and visited Duncan’s body in the morgue, Desti admitted that she had lied about Duncan’s last words.

Instead she told Wescott, Duncan said, "Je vais à l’amour" (I am off to love). Desti considered this too embarrassing to be recorded as the dance legend’s last words, especially as it suggested that Duncan hoped that she and Falchetto were going to her hotel for a sexual assignation.

Posted by Cyberoptix™ on 2010-01-16 22:16:52

Tagged: , scarf , silkscreen , screenprint , on view at 323 East Gallery , Isadora Duncan , art , fashion , dancer , airbag