A little boy sees Dave DeDera and dives behind his mother's legs. "I'm afraid," he says. Standing 6 feet 5 inches tall, DeDera cuts an imposing figure. But the red, bulbous nose and giant clown shoes ...

Before the circus of contemporary art begins next week, visit a circus at the Met. Those entertainers, the bait for those circuses, were calledsaltimbanques. The term comes from Italian, combining the ...