Evaluation



-->   28th May 2013

The Bride and the Bachelors
Duchamp with Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg and Johns
Barbican Art Gallery, London

 “Dancing Around Duchamp’s rich programme includes Robert Wilson’s theatrical interpretation of John Cage’s 1959 Lecture on Nothing, surreal and absurdist theatre with plays by Jarry and Ionesco and an adaptation of Beckett’s novella Watt, a film season that takes a cue from Duchamp’s Dadaist sensibility, live performances of Cage and Cunningham pieces in the gallery space, a new Curve project by Canadian artist Geoffrey Farmer and a major public event exploring the legacy of Duchamp.’

Barbican web page.

‘Dancing Around Duchamp’ is a major multi-disciplinary season of events across visual art, dance, theatre, film and music. It brings together key figures of the avant-garde with a shared Dadaist or absurdist sensibility who changed the course of 20th-century art.

The work in this exhibition explores the humour and playfulness of the artist’s ideas, and provokes questions about how they relate to contemporary art today.

While visiting this exhibition I became aware of the work of the composer John Cage.

Merce Cunningham & John Cage: Roaratorio (1986) at BAM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGHvnRtr3TI

The music on this reminded of the music I have made.

 

This also reminds me of the performances  in the THE TANKS, Art in Action at Tate Modern

Which I saw in December 2012

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tanks-tate-modern/eventseries/tanks-art-action

Thinking about what visuals would work best, I found the actual imagery I had recorded did not work because they distracted from the sounds I had composed. I was interested in ‘John Cage: Thirteen Harmonies (1985)’

John Cage, Music of Changes (1951)

In ‘John Cage - Water Walk’ there is a list of instruments used, I think this is a good idea and though I might do it on my film.

I like the silliness of John Cage playing amplified cacti and plant materials with a feather.