Love, Icebox (Paperback)

John Cage

ISBN 10: 1942884389 / ISBN 13: 9781942884385

Published by Distributed Art Publishers, 2019

About this Item

Paperback. These early letters from John Cage to Merce Cunningham will be revelatory for many. While the two are widely known as a dynamic, collaborative duo, the story of how and when they came together has never been fully told. In the 39 letters of this collection, spanning 1942 46, Cage shows himself to be a man falling deeply in love. When they first met at the Cornish School in Seattle in the 1930s, Cage was 26 to Cunningham's 19, their relationship was purely that of teacher and student, and Cage was also very much married.It was in Chicago that their romantic relationship would begin. Cage was teaching at Moholy-Nagy's School of Design when Cunningham passed through town as a dancer with the Martha Graham Company on March 14, 1942. The letters begin in January, but a week after Cunningham's performance, the essential correspondence begins. Cage's letters to Cunningham are passionate, distraught, romantic and confused, occasionally containing snippets of poetry and song. They are also more than love letters, with intimations that resonate with our experience of the later John Cage.Love, Icebox takes its shape from these letters transcribed, chronologically ordered and in some instances reproduced in facsimile. Laura Kuhn, Cage's assistant from 1986 to 1992 and now longtime director of the John Cage Trust, adds an introduction, postscript and running commentary. Photographic illustrations of their final 18th St loft, as well as personal and household objects left behind, remind us of the substance and rituals of a long-shared life. In the 39 letters of this collection, spanning 1942-46, Cage shows himself to be a man falling deeply in love. These letters have been transcribed, chronologically ordered, and in some instances reproduced in facsimile. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781942884385

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Love, Icebox (Paperback)
• Publisher: Distributed Art Publishers
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1942884389
• ISBN 13: 9781942884385
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Cage’s passionate, distraught and affectionate letters to Cunningham provide a vivid portrait of the start of their life together

A New York Times critics' pick | Best Art Books 2019

These early letters from John Cage to Merce Cunningham will be revelatory, for while the two are widely known as a dynamic, collaborative duo, the story of how and when they came together has never been fully revealed. In the 39 letters of this collection, spanning 1942–46, Cage shows himself to be a man falling deeply in love. When they first met at the Cornish School in Seattle in the 1930s, Cage was 26 to Cunningham’s 19. Their relationship was purely that of teacher and student, and Cage was also very much married.

It was in Chicago that their romantic relationship would begin. Cage was teaching at Moholy-Nagy’s School of Design when Cunningham passed through town as a dancer with the Martha Graham Company, appearing on stage on March 14, 1942. Cage’s letters, which begin in earnest a week later, are increasingly passionate, distraught, romantic and confused, and occasionally contain snippets of poetry and song. They are also more than love letters, as we see intimations that resonate with our experience of the later John Cage.

Love, Icebox takes its shape from these letters―transcribed, chronologically ordered, and in some instances reproduced in facsimile. Laura Kuhn, Cage’s assistant from 1986 to 1992 and now longtime director of the John Cage Trust, adds a foreword, afterword and running commentary. Photographic illustrations of their final 18th Street loft in New York City, as well as personal and household objects left behind, remind us of the substance and rituals of their long-shared life.

Review

John Cage’s onetime assistant and now the director of the John Cage Trust ― collects a series of 39 letters that the composer wrote to the dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham during the 1940s. What’s lovely about this slim volume is how it traces the full arc of a relationship. (Henry Alford New York Times: Book Review)

To see how Cage's brilliant mind transposed disparate elements around him into an ongoing legacy inspires me to keep returning to his challenging, nonlinear work. (Dave Wheeler Shelf Awareness)