In “tour en l’air,” Berlin-based artist Ursula Neugebauer evokes an unforgettable childhood experience: the thrill she felt when she got her first long skirt and the wonderful new feeling of twirling while wearing it. This was her introduction to a new form of stability amidst rotation.

Dancing Clothes

“tour en l’air” is an impressive installation at the nexus of fashion, art and architecture. Each of several deco busts slips into a floor-length red taffeta dress and is then brought to life by a computer-controlled electric motor. Although the individual elements are merely machines and pieces of fabric, the overall composition seems to amount to a poetic expression of something quintessentially human: an enchanting dance.