Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years [Paperback]

David Vaughan (Author), Merce Cunningham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2005

"The book on Mr. Cunningham aims at, and is, as complete and clear a portrait of the modern dance choreographer and his epochal work as has ever been published... The surprise of the Cunningham book is the grace with which it almost definitively sums up Mr. Cunningham's 63-year life in dance ... Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years is a compelling portrait of a simple yet complex man and an artist who has seldom faltered in his explorations of life and art on the simplest and most complex levels." --Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times "What emerges from this dispassionate, scrupulous account is much more than the chronicle of fifty years in the amazing and creative life of Merce Cunningham... Kudos to David Vaughan who has given us a noble work. As archivist for the Cunningham company for twenty years, he knows better than anyone how to turn this book about a great artist and about the art of this century into a work of art in itself." --Mikhail Baryshnikov Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years celebrates the career of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century from his first innovative and explosive solo dances to the present. This unique book incorporates images of performances by many world renowned photographers, including Imogen Cunningham, Barbara Morgan, Annie Leibovitz, Peter Hujar, and Arnold Eagle.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Unlike so many biographies of dance maestros, Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years offers no litany of substance or psychological abuse. The volume, assembled by the archivist of Merce Cunningham's world-renowned U.S. company, records and analyzes Cunningham's work process and documents the provenance of his modern dance classics. Heavily spiced with biographical detail, Merce Cunningham packages the choreographer's life story in a lovely design that respects his whole body and conveys a rare sense of movement in its mass of still photos. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

For over 50 years, modern dancer and choreographer Cunningham (b. 1919) has been creating dances that challenge performers and audiences alike. His remarkable journey of discovery has been marked by four events: his work with composer John Cage to separate the music from the dance; the adoption of chance operations in choreography; the influence of film and video; and the use of LifeForms, a computer application or "three-dimensional human animation system." The dance company's archivist for more than 20 years, Vaughan documents performances, tours, residencies, and grants, beginning with Cunningham's first work in 1942, and lets the recollections of principals?dancers, designers, and composers?serve as descriptions of each work. Excerpts from Cunningham's eloquent and provocative writings and interviews are interspersed throughout. Vaughan's writing is in keeping with Cunningham's stated preference "to speak of dancing in terms of `facts,' " yet this adherence to "facts" is the volume's one limitation?we hear more about uncomfortable accommodations while on tour than the 1992 death of Cage, Cunningham's lifelong partner and colleague. Handsomely illustrated, this accurate and extensive accounting of Cunningham's illustrious career is an essential addition to dance collections.?Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington, DC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Aperture (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893818631
• ISBN-13: 978-0893818630
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Dance > Modern

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Merce Cunningham:Fifty Years, August 1, 2000

By 

Sharon Unrau (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merce Cunningham, Fifty Years (Hardcover)

An excellent resource. Insightful. Beautiful pictures. Highly recommend for folks in dance education, collaborative artists, school teachers, dancers, and children.