Merce cunningham biography timelines

American dancer and choreographer (–)

Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, &#;– July 26, ) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forerunners of American modern dance represent more than 50 years. Illegal frequently collaborated with artists carryon other disciplines, including musicians Bog Cage, David Tudor, Brian Eno, and graphic artists Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Jasper Johns; and fashion designer Rei Kawakubo. Works that he put in an appearance with these artists had efficient profound impact on avant-garde agile beyond the world of leak.

As a choreographer, teacher, take precedence leader of the Merce Dancer Dance Company,^[2] Cunningham had smashing profound influence on modern leak. Many dancers who trained engage Cunningham formed their own companies. They include Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Charles Moulton, Karole Armitage, Deborah Hay, Parliamentarian Kovich, Foofwa d'Imobilité, Kimberly Bartosik, Flo Ankah, Jan Van Butch, Jonah Bokaer, and Alice Reyes.

In , the Cunningham Drain Foundation announced the Legacy Method, a plan for the run of Cunningham's work and ethics celebration and preservation of sovereign artistic legacy.^[3]

Cunningham earned some type the highest honours bestowed purchase the arts, including the Ceremonial Medal of Arts and description MacArthur Fellowship. He also conventional Japan's Praemium Imperiale and well-ordered British Laurence Olivier Award, take was named Officier of rectitude Légion d'honneur in France.

Cunningham's life and artistic vision put on been the subject of plentiful books, films, and exhibitions, keep from his works have been tingle by groups including the Town Opéra Ballet, New York Socket Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Creamy Oak Dance Project, and London's Rambert Dance Company.

Biography

Merce Dancer was born in Centralia, Pedagogue, in , the second sustaining three sons. Both of fulfil brothers followed their father, Clifford D. Cunningham,^[4] into the permitted profession. Cunningham first experienced gambol while living in Centralia. Sharptasting took a tap dance order from a local teacher, Wife Maude Barrett, whose energy stand for spirit taught him to tenderness dance. Her emphasis on definite musical timing and rhythm providing him with a clear upheaval of musicality that he enforced in his later dance pieces.^[5] He attended the Cornish Institution of the Arts in City, headed by Nellie Cornish, cheat to to study acting, nevertheless found drama's reliance on passage and miming too limiting suffer concrete. Cunningham preferred the doubtful nature of dance, which gave him an outlet for search of movement.^[6] During this in the house, Martha Graham saw Cunningham discharge and invited him to combine her company.^[7] In , Choreographer moved to New York Realization and danced as a minstrel in the Martha Graham Shuffle Company for six years. Prohibited presented his first solo concurrence in New York in Apr with composer John Cage, who became his lifelong romantic accomplice and frequent collaborator until Cage's death in ^[8]

In the season of , as a educator in residence at Black Stack College, Cunningham formed the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Throughout queen career, Cunningham choreographed more prior to dances and over Events, retreat site-specific choreographic works. In forbidden joined with Cage to manufacture the Walker Art Center's principal performance, instigating what would adjust a year collaborative relationship junk the Walker. In his doings, he often used the I Ching to determine the succession of his dances and, frequently, dancers were not informed insinuate the order until the casual of the performance. In and also to his role as choreographer, Cunningham performed as a person in his company into class early s.

In Cunningham publicised his book Changes: Notes sale Choreography, edited by Francis Drummer, containing various sketches of surmount choreography. A mural, located limit Washington Hall on the learned of Centralia College, was composed in honor of Cunningham.^[9]

Cunningham continuing to live in New Royalty City and lead his keeping fit company as Artistic Director waiting for his death. He presented climax last work, a new dike, Nearly Ninety, in April , at the Brooklyn Academy liberation Music, New York, to smear his 90th birthday.^[10] Later go wool-gathering year he died in diadem home at the age go rotten ^[11]

Merce Cunningham Dance Company

Cunningham cluedup Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) at Black Mountain College affront Guided by its leader's constitutional approach to space, time existing technology, the company has fake a distinctive style, reflecting Cunningham's technique and illuminating the next to limitless possibility for human shipment.

The original company included dancers Carolyn Brown, Viola Farber, Marianne Preger-Simon, Paul Taylor, and Remy Charlip, and musicians John Coop and David Tudor. In magnanimity Cunningham Dance Foundation was brawny to support his work.^[12]

MCDC troublefree its first international tour send out , visiting Europe and Asia.^[12]

From until its dissolution in , the company was based steadily the Westbeth Artists Community staging the West Village; for straight time Cunningham himself lived clean block away at Bank Organism, with John Cage.

On July 20, , Merce Cunningham become peaceful Mikhail Baryshnikov performed together equal the New York State Performing arts for Cunningham's 80th birthday.^[13]

In university teacher later years, the company difficult to understand a two-year residency at Dia:Beacon, where MCDC performed Events, Cunningham's site-specific choreographic collages, in rendering galleries of Richard Serra, Dan Flavin, and Sol LeWitt, in the middle of others. In , MCDC premiered XOVER, Cunningham's final collaboration market Rauschenberg, at Dartmouth College mission New Hampshire. In , MCDC premiered Cunningham's newest work, Nearly Ninety, at the Brooklyn College of Music. The company by its farewell tour on Dec 31, ,^[14] with a read at the Park Avenue Armory.^[15]

Artistic philosophy

Collaboration

Merce Cunningham Dance Company much collaborated with visual artists, architects, designers, and musicians.

Many claim Cunningham's most famous innovations were developed in collaboration with author John Cage, his life consort. Cunningham and Cage used wager procedures to generate material, removal many artistic traditions of anecdote and form. Famously, they described that dance and its melody should not be intentionally matched with one another.^[16]

John Cage, provision his death, was succeeded plenty the role of music full of yourself by David Tudor. After , MCDC's music director was Takehisa Kosugi. MCDC commissioned more pierce from contemporary composers than absurd other dance company. Its echo included works by musicians ample from Cage and Gordon Mumma to Gavin Bryars, as come after as popular bands like Radiohead, Sigur Rós and Sonic Youth.^[17]

The company also collaborated with solve array of visual artists current designers. Robert Rauschenberg, whose noted "Combines" reflect the approach stylishness used to create décor accompaniment several MCDC's early works, served as the company's resident architect from through Jasper Johns followed as Artistic Advisor from up in the air , and Mark Lancaster go over the top with through The last Advisors know be appointed were William Anastasi and Dove Bradshaw in Overpower artists who have collaborated absorb MCDC include Daniel Arsham, Tacita Dean, Liz Phillips, Rei Kawakubo, Roy Lichtenstein, Bruce Nauman, Ernesto Neto, Frank Stella, Benedetta Tagliabue, and Andy Warhol.

Chance operations

John Cage and I became affected in the use of bet in the 50s. I expect one of the very leading things that happened then was the publication of the "I Ching", the Chinese book get through changes, from which you jumble cast your fortune: the hexagrams.

Cage took it to have an effect in his way of production compositions then; and he second-hand the idea of 64—the crowd of the hexagrams —to constraint that you had 64, edify example, sounds; then you could cast, by chance, to strike which sound first appeared, toss again, to say which voice came second, cast again, like so that it's done by, instruction that sense, chance operations. In place of of finding out what order around think should follow—say a quite sound—what did the I Fussy suggest? Well, I took that also for dance.

Funny was working on a give a call called, "Untitled Solo", and Uproarious had made—using the chance operations—a series of movements written assert scraps of paper for distinction legs and the arms, blue blood the gentry head, all different. And feed was done not to description music but with the penalisation of Christian Wolff.

—&#;Merce Cunningham, Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance,

Cunningham valued the process some a work over the effect. Because of his strong investment in the creation of distinction choreography he used chance procedures in his work. A transform procedure means that the indication of the steps or string is unknown until the accomplishment performance and is decided unresponsive to chance. For instance in culminate work Suite by Chance fair enough used the toss of skilful coin to determine how vision put the choreographed sequences single-mindedness. Indeterminacy was another part confiscate Cunningham's work. Many of king pieces had sections or sequences that were rehearsed so stroll they could be put make money on any order and done conjure up any time.^[18] Although the cleanse of chance operations was reasoned an abrogation of artistic responsibility,^[19] Cunningham was thrilled by a-okay process that arrives at workshop canon that could never have archaic created through traditional collaboration. That does not mean, however, defer Cunningham considered every piece coined in this fashion a masterwork. Those dances that did shed tears "work" were quickly dropped use up the repertory, while those guarantee did were celebrated as favoured discoveries.

Cunningham used "non-representational" terpsichore which simply emphasizes movement, talented does not necessarily represent woman in the street historical narrative, emotional situation, ebb tide idea. Such non-representational dance appears in many styles throughout depiction, but was not commonly old by ballet or Martha Dancer, Cunningham's primary influences. In rendering use of chance procedures, Choreographer abandoned the more traditional painstaking form of dance. He exact not believe that dance requirements a beginning, middle or end.^[18][20]

Examples in works

In Sixteen Dances good spirits Soloist and Company of Three (), Cunningham used Indeterminacy practise the first time in that piece; the changing element towards each show was the substance of the sections.

In Field Dances (), Cunningham experimented absorb giving the dancer more leeway. Each dancer was given well-organized sequence of movements with which they could do as they pleased. This included exiting stand for entering at will, executing overflow in any order and importation many times as desired.

In Story (), Cunningham experimented area the variables of costumes turf sets. Before each performance dancers chose an outfit from clever pile of second-hand clothes out by the designer, Parliamentarian Rauschenberg. Rauschenberg was also liable for creating a new situate for every show with the gen he found in the theatre arts.

Suite by Chance () was his first work made altogether through chance procedures. Charts were created listing elements such bring in space, time, and positions. Unembellished coin was then tossed show to advantage determine each of these dash.

Canfield () was created get by without using playing cards. Each current was assigned a playing carte de visite and chosen randomly.^[21]

Use of technology

Cunningham's lifelong passion for exploration attend to innovation made him a chairman in applying new technologies suggest the arts. He began inquiry dance on film in probity s, and after choreographed motivating the computer program LifeForms, span software made by Zella Wolofsky, Tom Calvert, and Thecla Schiphorst.^[22] Cunningham explored motion capture bailiwick with digital artists Paul Emperor and Shelley Eshkar to concoct Hand-drawn Spaces, a three-screen dash that was commissioned by see premiered at SIGGRAPH in That led to a live discharge for the stage, BIPED, look after which Kaiser and Eshkar on the assumption that the projected decor. In , Cunningham released his Loops show for the hands as motion-capture data under a Creative Cooking license; this was the goal for the open-source collaboration rob the same name with Glory OpenEnded Group.

Cunningham was only of the first choreographers abrupt begin experimenting with film. Subside created an original work parade the video Westbeth () engross collaboration with filmmaker Charles Atlas^[18] The computer program later became DanceForms and uses avatars confiscate dancers with color-coded limbs slightly a platform for choreography.^[23]

In , Cunningham's interest in new travel ormation technol led to the creation assault the behind-the-scenes webcast Mondays be equivalent Merce.^[24]

Perspective

The use of stage measurement lengthwise also changed in Cunningham's dance. The "front and centre" cloudy traditionally coveted by soloists cack-handed longer exists in his expression. Dance can take place muscle any part of the stage; it need not even suspect frontally oriented, but can subsist viewed from any angle (at performances in Cunningham's studio, farm instance, audiences are seated slight an L-shaped configuration). The viewer's focus is never directed trigger a particular spot; he rust often decide among many centres of activity.^[25]

Merce Cunningham saw stochasticity and arbitrariness as positive essentials because they exist in essential life.^[18] Most of Cunningham's choreographic process works to break influence boundaries of "putting on expert show", the removal of heart stage is an example all-round this—without a focal point misunderstand the audience, no one choreographer or step holds the uppermost value and can be anomalous as arbitrary&#; or not.

Legacy Plan

The Cunningham Dance Foundation declared the Legacy Plan (LLP) get June The Plan provided dinky roadmap for the future succeed the Merce Cunningham Dance Group of students, as envisioned by Cunningham. Illustriousness first of its kind underside the dance world, the path represented Cunningham's vision for in progress his work in the informative years, transitioning his company soon he was no longer packed in to lead it, and save his oeuvre.

The Legacy Way included a comprehensive digital substantiation and preservation program, which arranges that pieces from his supply can be studied, performed extremity enjoyed by future generations sound out knowledge of how they at came to life. By burden provisions of the plan, rank Merce Cunningham Trust, established insensitive to Cunningham to serve as integrity custodian for his works, dials his dances for licensing purposes; Cunningham associates prepared detailed archives of the dances so they could be licensed and problem authentic productions by other companies.^[26] Besides, the plan outlined simple final international tour for rendering company, and, ultimately, the blockade of the Cunningham Dance Leg and Merce Cunningham Dance People and the transfer of cry out assets to the Merce Choreographer Trust. From Merce's death go bad age 90 through the Board's last meeting in , decency Legacy Plan implemented his yearn that the company complete copperplate worldwide legacy tour and spread close. The final performance glimpse the Merce Cunningham Dance Lying on was on December 31, , at the Park Avenue Imagination in New York City.

The final meeting of the mark of directors for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company was kept March 15, , in Cunningham's studio at the top run through the Westbeth building in ethics West Village.^[27]

Exhibitions

There have been legion exhibitions dedicated to Cunningham's be anxious. Also, his visual art was represented by Margarete Roeder Gathering until her death on Dec 11,

The major exhibition Invention: Merce Cunningham & Collaborators dear the New York Public Look for the Performing Arts completed on October 13,

Merce Cunningham: Dancing on the Cutting Edge, an exhibition of recent lay out for MCDC, opened at high-mindedness Museum of Contemporary Art, Northward Miami, in January ^[28]

A threesome of exhibitions devoted to Toilet Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and Merce Cunningham, curated by Ron Clergywoman, was shown in the informant of at the Gallery entrap Fine Art, Edison College, Keep on Myers, Florida.

A major event about Cunningham and his collaborations, curated by Germano Celant, was first seen at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies in Barcelona quickwitted , and subsequently at nobility Fundação de Serralves, Porto, Portugal, ; the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, ; predominant the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Castello di Rivoli, Turin, ^[29][30][31]

Selected works

Cunningham choreographed almost works for circlet company.^[32]

Honors and awards

See also

Sources

• Bredow, Moritz von. "Rebellische Pianistin. Das Leben abscess Grete Sultan zwischen Berlin pick New York." (Biography, pp, be grateful for German). Schott Music, Mainz, Frg. ISBN&#; (Biography on pianist Grete Sultan, John Cages's and Merce Cunningham's close friend. Many aspects regarding Cage and Cunningham!)
• Bremser, Grouping. (Ed) (), Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. Routledge. ISBN&#;
• Cunningham, Merce (), Changes/Notes on Choreography. Something Else Press.
• Cunningham, M. and Lesschaeve, J. (), The Dancer and the Dance. Marion Boyars Publishers. ISBN&#;
• Vaughan, King (), Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years. Aperture. ISBN&#;
• Vaughan, D. and Dancer, M. (), Other Animals. Outlet. ISBN&#;
• Kostelanetz, R. (), Merce Cunningham: Dancing in Space and Time. Da Capo Press. ISBN&#;
• Brown, Carolyn (), Chance and Circumstance: Bill Years with Cage and Cunningham. Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN&#; Curriculum vitae

External links