ceremonies out of the air: ralph lemon and

More than 40 works across media, including major ensemble performances, emerging in the afterlife of postmodern dance

Philadelphia-based artist, dancer and choreographer Ralph Lemon (born 1952) is one of the most significant figures to arise from New York’s downtown scene in the 1990s. This catalog, published on the occasion of the first US museum exhibition of Lemon’s work in movement, film and installation, traces the arc of his ongoing collaborations, which extend far beyond the paradigm of dance. Text by exhibition curators Connie Butler and Thomas Jean Lax is accompanied by essays and contributions by Kevin Beasley, Adrienne Edwards, Saidiya Hartman, Darrell Jones, Ralph Lemon, Okwui Okpokwasili and Kevin Quashie. Featuring a dust jacket that unfolds into a poster, the book includes full-color illustrations of Lemon’s artworks and reproductions of his sketches and notations.