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Five who changed how we see the world
"Dancing Around the Bride' at the Art Museum (1st review)
"Dancing Around the Bride" is an exciting reunion of the cultural icons of Modern Art in all its phases. John Cage in music, Merce Cunningham in dance, and Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg in the visual arts continued the fiery artistic dialogues initiated by Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), who asked the questions guaranteed to upset bourgeois apple carts. Rarely has their collective assault on conventional culture been captured with such clarity.
The artists in this exhibition all knew each other in New York City during the 1950s. They interacted, exchanged ideas and lovers at the Cedar Tavern, and experimented with sounds and objects from daily life— beer cans, street noises, bicycle wheels— as the integral elements of their art. Art, they proclaimed, was part and parcel of our existence, enlarging our cognizance and stimulating all our senses.
Here are numerous special performances of dance and music, in addition to the more than 60 works of art by Johns and Rauschenberg and more than 40 by Duchamp, plus prerecorded and live music by John Cage and live dance performances of Cunningham's works by former members of his dance company.
Erotic contact
Although it's tempting to begin your visit by entering under the illuminated marquee to the special exhibition galleries, it helps to begin by crossing the Art Museum's grand staircase through the 19th- and 20th-Century galleries to the Marcel Duchamp section, which houses the world's most complete collection of his work, now supplemented with works by other artists in the current exhibition.
The monumental piece is Duchamp's Large Glass: The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (1915-23). Astutely placed by Anne d'Harnoncourt, the Museum's late director and a Duchamp expert, it's permanently installed in front of a door-size window that reveals a fountain conveniently centered in the exterior courtyard. Although the nine male representations (made of dust) never rise to meet the Bride in the upper portion of the glass, the gushing fountain in the courtyard supplies the erotic contact. Duchamp must have loved it.
Examine John Cage's written music compositions and you'll discover that, yes, the musical enfant terrible did utilize the same scales and notes the rest of us learned in grade school. Take time to look at the paintings and combines by the other artists in the show. Now you're prepared to enjoy the special exhibition, with its automated player pianos, a large stage and bleacher-type seating for the audience.
A door opened and closed
The first gallery features Duchamp's 1912 painting, The Bride, which launched his exploration of metamorphosis. The Bride represents life and transition, followed by his Nude Descending the Staircase, which defined motion in visual terms. Questioning general assumptions, Duchamp supplied the evidence that a door can be both open and closed at the same time. He photographed the door in his Paris apartment. When the door was closed to the bathroom, it was open to the bedroom/studio.
The next gallery deals with elements of chance in Cage's music, Cunningham's choreography and Rauschenberg's paintings and prints.
Cunningham's homage
Then you enter "The Main Stage," where all these elements come together, not to mention the weird noises from the piano and hidden speakers. Time it right and you can sit and watch Merce Cunningham's Walkaround Time (1968, with staging by Jasper Johns) or another of his dance works. (The first time I saw this performance, I thought the dancers were just walking around the stage barefoot, testing the surface for a future performance.)
Cunningham's homage to Duchamp is fulfilled with iconic works by Rauschenberg and others, who pay their respects to Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel, a 1964 replica of the 1913 original.
The final gallery explores Duchamp's dedication to chess, with beautiful examples of chess sets, including his own portable set. Note Duchamp's Fountain, a 1950 replica of the 1917 original urinal, signed R. Mutt. When questioned about its status as a work of art, Duchamp responded that art is whatever an artist says is art, effectively liberating all artists forever.♦
To read responses, click here and here.
To read another review by AJ Sabatini, click here.
The artists in this exhibition all knew each other in New York City during the 1950s. They interacted, exchanged ideas and lovers at the Cedar Tavern, and experimented with sounds and objects from daily life— beer cans, street noises, bicycle wheels— as the integral elements of their art. Art, they proclaimed, was part and parcel of our existence, enlarging our cognizance and stimulating all our senses.
Here are numerous special performances of dance and music, in addition to the more than 60 works of art by Johns and Rauschenberg and more than 40 by Duchamp, plus prerecorded and live music by John Cage and live dance performances of Cunningham's works by former members of his dance company.
Erotic contact
Although it's tempting to begin your visit by entering under the illuminated marquee to the special exhibition galleries, it helps to begin by crossing the Art Museum's grand staircase through the 19th- and 20th-Century galleries to the Marcel Duchamp section, which houses the world's most complete collection of his work, now supplemented with works by other artists in the current exhibition.
The monumental piece is Duchamp's Large Glass: The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (1915-23). Astutely placed by Anne d'Harnoncourt, the Museum's late director and a Duchamp expert, it's permanently installed in front of a door-size window that reveals a fountain conveniently centered in the exterior courtyard. Although the nine male representations (made of dust) never rise to meet the Bride in the upper portion of the glass, the gushing fountain in the courtyard supplies the erotic contact. Duchamp must have loved it.
Examine John Cage's written music compositions and you'll discover that, yes, the musical enfant terrible did utilize the same scales and notes the rest of us learned in grade school. Take time to look at the paintings and combines by the other artists in the show. Now you're prepared to enjoy the special exhibition, with its automated player pianos, a large stage and bleacher-type seating for the audience.
A door opened and closed
The first gallery features Duchamp's 1912 painting, The Bride, which launched his exploration of metamorphosis. The Bride represents life and transition, followed by his Nude Descending the Staircase, which defined motion in visual terms. Questioning general assumptions, Duchamp supplied the evidence that a door can be both open and closed at the same time. He photographed the door in his Paris apartment. When the door was closed to the bathroom, it was open to the bedroom/studio.
The next gallery deals with elements of chance in Cage's music, Cunningham's choreography and Rauschenberg's paintings and prints.
Cunningham's homage
Then you enter "The Main Stage," where all these elements come together, not to mention the weird noises from the piano and hidden speakers. Time it right and you can sit and watch Merce Cunningham's Walkaround Time (1968, with staging by Jasper Johns) or another of his dance works. (The first time I saw this performance, I thought the dancers were just walking around the stage barefoot, testing the surface for a future performance.)
Cunningham's homage to Duchamp is fulfilled with iconic works by Rauschenberg and others, who pay their respects to Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel, a 1964 replica of the 1913 original.
The final gallery explores Duchamp's dedication to chess, with beautiful examples of chess sets, including his own portable set. Note Duchamp's Fountain, a 1950 replica of the 1917 original urinal, signed R. Mutt. When questioned about its status as a work of art, Duchamp responded that art is whatever an artist says is art, effectively liberating all artists forever.♦
To read responses, click here and here.
To read another review by AJ Sabatini, click here.
What, When, Where
“Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg and Duchamp.†Through January 21, 2013 at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benj. Franklin Pkwy and 26th St. (215) 763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.
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