Cunningham: Expectation and Performance

1
Cunningham Expectation and Performance
Powerpoint Presentation by Heather Zemeck Amended
by Elizabeth Drake-Boyt 6/15/01
2
How does Roger Copeland, in his article Merce
Cunningham and the Politics of Perception
discuss painting and drama?
What do post-modernist concepts of painting and
the dramatic forms developed by Bertolt
Brecht have to do with the dance art of Merce
Cunningham?
3
Breaking through the mold of automatic artistic
response
. . .even the subconscious is in danger of
becoming fully acculturated amidst the sensory
overload environments of 20th century consumer
society. (Copeland 311). How does Cunningham
separate . . .the product from the process of
its creation?
4
Both abstract expressionism and modern dance
proceeded from Freuds belief that below the
cultural lies the natural id. . .In order to
re-establish contact with the natural. . .self,
one must suspend rationality. What techniques
does Cunningham use to suspend rationality in his
dances?
5
What approach to drama did Brecht develop in his
plays in order to distance the audience from a
pre-arranged relationship to the narrative? List
some ways in which Cunningham separates,
distorts, or otherwise alters dance elements
which have traditionally been linked. Why would
these artists want to prevent passive absorption
of their works?
6
Pollock wanted to express himself (his innermost
self) in the most spontaneous, unmediated manner
possible. . .Ultimately, Pollock discovered the
wisdom of Martha Grahams oft-quoted
aphorism, Movement does not lie. (Copeland
308-9). If mediation between painter and
painting is removed, how does that affect
mediation between painter and viewer? Does
Cunningham also remove or alter mediation between
his dances and their audiences?
7
How does a severance of meaning between dance and
music reflect a separation of meaning between
artist and audience?
Does the audience create meaning? Why or why
not?
8
Cunninghams Dance by Chance Approach
The choreography, the score, the settings are all
created in isolation and often dont encounter
one another until the very first performance
(Copeland 312).Cunningham might toss a coin to
determine the number of dances, the sequence of
movement, the spatial pattern, etc. (WD 310)
Discuss how does the resulting dance affects
the audience.
9

• If Cunningham felt that this invoked a wholly
  impersonal, more objective sense of order . .
  .
• How would this approach to dance make
  Cunninghams work perceptual training? How is
  this different from art as entertainment?
• Do you feel that Cunninghams work is
  successful at detaching itself from the natural
  world? Why or why not?

10

• Small Group Discussion
• Examine Post-modernist Expressionism in these
  terms
• Continuity of time and space
• Audience expectations vs. the artists goals
• The relationship of the process of creation and
  its product
• How is meaning negotiated between the artist, the
  work, and the viewer of that work?
• Who invests the work of art with its meaning?
• Does the mass production of images have any
  influence on the structure, purposes, or vision
  of Post-modernist Expressions?

11
Works Cited

• Roger Copeland, Merce Cunningham and the
  Politics of Perception from What is Dance? Roger
  Copeland and Marshall Cohen, Eds. Oxford
  University Press, NY 1983. (p. 307-324).
• Michael Katz, photograph (insert) of
  Rauschenbergs Monogram, from the Bride and the
  Bachelors Five Masters of the Avante-Garde.
  Calvin Tompkins, Viking. New York 1969.
• Calvin Tomkins, photograph (insert) of Cunningham
  in studio rehearsal, from the Bride and the
  Bachelors Five Masters of the Avante-Garde.
  Calvin Tompkins, Viking. New York 1969.

12
Works Cited

• Jack Mitchell, photographs of Merce Cunningham,
  from American Dance Portfolio Photographs by
  Jack Mitchell. Dodd, Mead Co. NY 1964. (p.
  30).
• Jackson Pollock No. 14, 1948. Reproduced in
  The Story of Art, E. H. Gombrich, Ed. (13th Ed).
  Phaidon Press, Ltd. Oxford 1978. (p. 479).
• Hans Namuth, NY, photographer. Jackson Pollock
  at work in his studio, 1950, from Arts and
  Ideas, William Fleming (7th Ed.)Holt, Rinehart
  and Winston, NY 1986. (p. 459).
• Jackson Pollock Lucifer (1947) from Arts and
  Ideas, William Fleming (7th Ed.)Holt, Rinehart
  and Winston, NY 1986. (p. 459).