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. |
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User Review - matthewjpiper - LibraryThingThe only extant book-length, critical monograph about Cunningham's work, I recommend this to dance enthusiasts interested in a thoughtful orientation of his dances in the context of dance and art ... Read full review
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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Bibliographic information
| Title | Merce Cunningham: The Modernizing of Modern Dance |
| Author | Roger Copeland |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Psychology Press, 2004 |
| ISBN | 0415965756, 9780415965750 |
| Length | 304 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |