Dancers on a Plane

CAGE, John, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, and Susan Sontag

ISBN 10: 0394588479 / ISBN 13: 9780394588476

Published by Alfred A. Knopf in association with Anthony d'Offay Gallery, New York, 1990

About this Item

First edition and first printing. Hardcover. 166 pages. Attractive collaborative book with reproductions of John's paintings and drawings, a manuscript from Cage and photographs of Cunningham and his dancers. Features texts by Susan Sontag, David Sylvester, Mark Rosenthal and with a conversation between David Vaughan and Jasper Johns. A clean near fine copy in yellow cloth boards and in a near fine dust jacket with some toning to the edges. An underrated book.

Seller Inventory # 215238

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Dancers on a Plane
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf in association with Anthony d'Offay Gallery, New York
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394588479
• ISBN 13: 9780394588476
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Dust Jacket Condition: dj
• Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art Monographs

About this title

Synopsis

Dancers on a Plane

CAGE CUNNINGHAM JOHNS
John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Jasper Johns have created some of the most provocative and significant music, dance, and visual art of our time. They have been friends throughout their adult lives, and their influence on one another's work and thought has been both subtle and profound.

This extraordinary volume offers a revealing study of this work-enriching relationship. 'the book's many reproductions of John's paintings and drawings, a calligraphic manuscript by Cage, and photographs of Cunningham and his dancers in rehearsal and performance are augmented by commentary from Susan Sontag and essays by David Sylvester (on Cage), David Vaughan (on Cunningham), and Mark Rosenthal (on Johns). Together, words and images give us new insight into the interaction of three artistic disciplines, the sharing of common themes and preoccupations, and the contribution each individual's art makes to a larger whole.

The source of CAGE CUNNINGHAM JOHNS is the 1989 exhibition presented by the Anthony d'Offay Gallery of London. Writing about the exhibition in The New York Times, John Russell called this book 'a contribution of lasting value' to our understanding of a rare friendship and three towering artistic achievements. With 15 full-color reproductions of John's paintings and drawings (including two foldouts), 19 two-color reproductions of pages from a Cage manuscript, and 30 duotone photographs, it will delight and enlighten every lover of contemporary music, dance, and art.

Reviews

London's Anthony D'Offay Gallery was the location of a recent multimedia show involving the collaboration of three highly influential, yet controversial, contemporary American artists: composer John Cage, dancer-choreographer Merce Cunningham, and painter Jasper Johns. Issued in conjunction with the exhibition, this catalog contains reproductions of Cage's musical manuscripts and Johns's paintings along with photographs of Cunningham's lithe movements. It documents their influence upon one another, celebrating close to 50 years of friendship. Yet the addition of Susan Sontag's whimsical verses, essays by art critics, captivating portrait photographs, and detailed chronologies fail to illuminate the complex muddle of ideas. Because of their significance in the avant-garde world, special collections may want this. Otherwise, this is not a necessary purchase.
- Joan Levin, Indian Trails P.L., Wheeling, Ill.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.