6 one-off performances. One choreographer, 6 nights, 6 events. This series will be a celebration of Cunningham's visionary collaborations with guest visual and musical artists. Each Event will contain different choreography, different decor and different musical accompaniment, all conceived specifically for the Barbican stage.
6 one-off performances
Commissioned by BITE: 05, Barbican, Barbican Art Gallery and Dance Umbrella
One choreographer, 6 nights, 6 EVENTs. This remarkable series will be like no other - a celebration of Cunninghama€™s visionary collaborations with guest visual and musical artists. Each EVENT will contain different choreography, different dA(c)cor and different musical accompaniment, all conceived specifically for the Barbican stage by a€˜the high priest of pure movementa€™ Daily Telegraph.
EVENT is a series of 6 one-off performances celebrating legendary choreographer
Cunningham's visionary collaborations with musicians and visual artists.
Musicians performing include John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), John King, Takehisa
Kosugi, Kaffe Matthews, Stephen Montague, Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud) and Phil
Selway (Radiohead).
14 June
Visual artist: Richard Hamilton
Musicians: John King, Scanner (aka Robin Rimbaud), Philip Selway
15 June
Visual artist: Marc Camille Chaimowicz
Musicians: John King, Scanner, Stephen Montague
16 June
Visual artist: David Batchelor
Musicians: John King, Kaffe Matthews, Philip Selway
17 June
Visual artist: Roger Hiorns
Musicians: John King, Steve Montague, John Paul Jones
18 June
Visual artist: Darren Almond
Musicians: Takehisa Kosugi, Kaffe Matthews, Stephen Montague
19 June
Visual artist: Enrico David
Musicians: Takehisa Kosugi, John Paul Jones, Kaffe Matthews
ARTISTS
Richard Hamilton creates a new collage of projected images and texts including words
by Marcel Duchamp. The other visual artists loan existing works or variations of
existing works: Marc Camille Chaimowicz's piece is l'escalier a deux vitesses
(2004), a sculpture of a narrow staircase; David Batchelor's piece Oh! Merce C
(2005) is based on his earlier work Brick Lane Remix (2003), a light installation;
Roger Hiorns' contribution consists of a cluster of 15 works (1998 - present) made
from ceramic, Plexiglas, compressor and foam; Darren Almond's piece is If I Had You
(2003), four different video projections played simultaneously; and Enrico David's
piece is MANTWAT (2004), a giant animated puppet.
MUSICIANS
Takehisa Kosugi has been a composer / performer for Merce Cunningham Dance Company
since 1977 and has been Music Director for the company since 1995, following in the
footsteps of John Cage. In the 60s he founded collective improvisational group the
Taj Mahal Travellers, which toured the world giving intermedia presentations in
various environments including India, Europe and the Near East. He has performed in
several international festivals and has presented his sound installations in many
exhibitions.
Kaffe Matthews is a pioneer in electronic improvisation and live composition, and
established the label Annette Works in 1997. She has collaborated and performed with
artists including agf, Ryoko Kuwajima, Zeena Parkins, Sachiko M, Ikue Mori, Marina
Rosenfeld, Pan-Sonic, O'Blaat, Oren Ambarchi, Alan Lamb and Christian Fennesz.
Stephen Montague is a freelance Anglo/ American composer, pianist and conductor
based in London. He was Artistic Advisor for the Barbican's Cage UnCaged festival in
2004 and has worked closely with composers including Morton Feldman, Christian
Wolff, Conlon Nancarrow, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Astor Piazzolla, Iannis Xenakis
and John Cage.
John King, composer and guitarist, has presented his solo, chamber and group
compositions throughout the US, Europe and Japan and has produced several
commissions for Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
John Paul Jones was a founder member of Led Zeppelin and has worked as a producer,
arranger and performer with a range of artists including Diamanda Galas, REM and
Brian Eno. Not constrained by musical boundaries he took part in John Cage's
MusicCircus at the Barbican and shortly after embarked on a tour with bluegrass
heroes Nickel Creek. He has recently completed work on a new choral piece
commissioned by COMA as part of the Brighton Festival.
Scanner traverses the experimental terrain between sound, space, image and form,
creating absorbing, multi-layered sound pieces that twist technology in
unconventional ways. He has collaborated with artists including Bryan Ferry, Laurie
Anderson, The Royal Ballet and Random Dance companies, Michael Nyman, Luc Ferrari,
Mike Kelley and Derek Jarman.
Phil Selway is the drummer of Radiohead. His collaboration with Merce Cunningham
Dance Company follows Radiohead's earlier collaboration with the company in 2003.
Tickets from A£10.
For more info visit http://www.barbican.org.uk/bite
All performances 7.45pm, except 19 June, 3pm
Barbican Theatre
Silk Street - London