Edgar Degas
Degas's work was controversial, but was generally admired for its draftsmanship. His "La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans", or "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years", which he displayed at the sixth Impressionist exhibition in 1881, was probably his most controversial piece; some critics decried what they thought its "appalling ugliness" while others saw in it a "blossoming". In part Degas' originality consisted in disregarding the smooth, full surfaces and contours of classical sculpture ... [and] in garnishing his little statue with real hair and clothing made to scale like the accoutrements for a doll. These relatively "real" additions heightened the illusion, but they also posed searching questions, such as what can be referred to as "real" when art is concerned. The suite of pastels depicting nudes that Degas exhibited in the eighth Impressionist Exhibition in 1886 produced "the most concentrated body of critical writing on the artist during his lifetime ... The overall reaction was positive and laudatory".
Peter Sparling
Sparling was commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Arts to create work for both the "Detroit 300: Artists Take on Detroit: Projects for the Tricentennial" and the exhibit, "Degas and the Dance". His solo show, "Bodytalk: A Vaudeville for Dancing Man at Middle Age", premiered at the 2002 Ann Arbor Summer Festival, featuring original text and video as well as a host of distinguished collaborators such as Linda Gregerson, Rudolf Arnheim and Charles Baxter. His video/performance work, "Peninsula", received its premiere at the 2004 Ann Arbor Summer Festival and has toured throughout the state and to the Chicago Humanities Festival. It celebrates the cultural and economic history, geography and diverse landscapes of his home state of Michigan. His videodance, "Babel", was selected for screening at the 2007 NY Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. It also featured in his new videodance installation, Allegorica in November, 2007. His work, Vox Humana, was premiered by the Grand Rapids Ballet in April 2008. His next project, Climbing Ste.-Victoire, was a full-evening dance/theater work inspired by the late paintings of Cézanne.