Merce Cunningham For Camera

Video exhibition is part of the Merce Cunningham Centennial

January 3 – February 27, 2019
On the High Line at 14th St.

New York, NY (December 7, 2018) —  Presented by Friends of the High Line, High Line Art announces For Camera, a video exhibition of three works by Merce Cunningham. The exhibition will screen January 3 through February 27, 2019, as a part of High Line Channel—an ongoing series of video projections in the semi-enclosed passageway on the High Line at 14th St. For Camera is part of the Merce Cunningham Centennial, a celebration of Cunningham’s legacy, hosted at arts and educational institutions around the world.

For the Centennial, High Line Art presents three of Cunningham’s choreographies for camera. A perpetual innovator and routine collaborator, Cunningham worked with artists, musicians, dancers, scenographers, and more. In particular, he used film to both document his performances and as a medium in its own right, often collaborating with filmmakers to stage dances specifically made for the camera. For this program, High Line Art will screen three such works: Beach Birds for Camera (1992), made in collaboration with director and filmmaker Elliot Caplan, and Locale (1980) and Channels/Inserts(1982), made in collaboration with the artist Charles Atlas. Atlas is an American filmmaker and video artist who has worked across film, dance, and performance for decades, and was a lighting designer at the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Caplan was the filmmaker-in-residence at the Cunningham Foundation from 1983 – 1998 and worked closely with both Cunningham and his partner, the musician John Cage, in the realization of many works.

“We’re thrilled to be participating in this worldwide celebration of Cunningham’s work,” says Melanie Kress, High Line Art Associate Curator. “There’s always a question as to how a dance lives on after its conception, so it’s exciting to present today's audiences with his works in their original medium and showcase Cunningham’s devotion to collaboration.”

Merce Cunningham (1919 – 2009) is one of the most widely celebrated choreographers of his time. In 2019, the Merce Cunningham Trust will host a worldwide celebration of Cunningham’s life with performances, screenings, and other events to mark the centenary of his birth. Throughout his 70-year career, Cunningham continued to innovate, helping to drive the evolution of the American avant-garde and expanding the frontiers of contemporary visual and performing arts. His approach to performance was groundbreaking in its ideological simplicity and physical complexity. His collaborations with artists from every creative discipline yielded an unparalleled body of North American dance, music, and visual art.