Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of Modern DanceMerce Cunningham and the Modernizing of Modern Dance is a complete study of the life and work of this seminal choreographer/dancer. More than just a biography, Copeland explores Cunningham's life story against a backdrop of an entire century of developments in American art. Copeland traces his own experience of Cunningham's dances-from the turbulent late '60s through the experimental works of the '80s and '90s-showing how Cunningham moved dance away from the highly emotional, subjective work of Martha Graham to a return to a new kind of classicism. This book places Cunningham in the forefront of an artistic revolution, a revolution that has its parallels in music (John Cage, and the minimalist composers who followed him), painting (Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg), theater (the "happenings" of the '60s), and dance itself (the Judson School of dancers). An iconclastic and highly readable analysis, this book will be enjoyed by all those interested in the development of the American arts in the 20th century. |
Contents
Education | 25 |
The Sound of Perceptual Freedom | 145 |
Cunningham Cage and Collage | 165 |
Dancing for the Digital Age | 183 |
The Gaze of Upright | 205 |
Modernism Postmodernism and Cunningham | 229 |
Dancing in the Aftermath of 911 | 263 |
287 | |
295 | |
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abstract expressionism abstract expressionist aesthetic of indifference argued artists audience Balanchine ballet Biped body Brecht Cage's called Carolyn Brown chance operations choreographer classical collaboration collage composer concept contemporary contrast cool costumes created culture Cunningham and Cage Cunningham dance Cunningham's choreography Cunningham's movement dancers David Tudor décor downstage Duchamp electronic elements emotional essay ethos example experience feel film Gesamtkunstwerk human idea images impersonal inspiration Jackson Pollock Jasper Johns John Cage Johns's Kostelanetz LifeForms live look Martha Graham McWorld Merce Cunningham mind modern dance modern dance choreographers modernist Moira Roth motion motion-captured moving museum Nam June Paik nature objects once Paik painting perceptual performance phrase political Pollock postmodern pre-Cunningham modern dance primitive primitivism primitivist Rauschenberg relationship rhythm ritual Robert Rauschenberg seemed sense solo sort sound scores spectator stage space theater things unconscious upright posture urban virtually visual vocabulary Walkaround words wrote