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Merce Cunningham, one of the great representatives of US dancing, “son” of Martha Graham and father of all the others, passed away in his sleep in his residence at the age of 90 last 26th July leaving great grief in the field not only of dancing, but also of art.
“He revolutionised visual and performance arts, without an iconoclast intent, but for the beauty and the marvel which arises from exploring new possibilities”, is what is written in the press release which announced his death, signed by his two schools, Cunningham Dance Foundation and Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
Student prodigy of Martha Graham, he already stood out when he was young as a male interpreter of extraordinary expressive strength and athletic power in the great choreographer’s company. When he left Graham he started his own autonomous career as interpreter and creator establishing from the start a close relationship with John Cage, musician and theorist who also deeply influenced the history of art.
From Cage, Merce Cunningham drew inspiration in particular with regard to methods of aleatory compositions (based on the selection of compositional materials made by chance), methods which characterised his work throughout his entire career.
The collaboration between these two talents started in 1942 and lasted until the musician passed away in 1992, calling into question the formal methods of 19th century art, already refused by Marcel Duchamp.
Cunningham’s extraordinary strength lies in a strong dose of improvisation combined with rigid formalism. For this reason, Nam June Paik, pioneer of VideoArt, stated that “Merce seems to wander on the stage without a precise purpose, but with a great aesthetic sense”. Cunningham’s choreographic movements originate from the daily gesture, from the mistake of the moment, and do not adapt but rather they confront the music soundtrack. The US choreographer assigned the role of interpreters to his dancers. They are free to slow down and speed up the movements, go off or onto the scene, choose the succession of the choreographic phrases to perform.
Thanks to his talent, Cunningham leaves an “indelible mark on our creativity and collective culture” is written in the release circulated by his two foundations. Working with Cage, his partner all along, he conceived a new way to perceive and live the world. “Merce was an artistic Maverik and the most delicate genius. We have lost a great man and a great artist, but we will celebrate his extraordinary life, his art, the dancers and artists he worked with”, said Judith Fishman, president of the Cunningham Dance Foundation.
Prominent figure of American avant-garde, Cunningham’s genius and talent had repercussions beyond the dance ambit. His talent extended well beyond choreography thanks to a constant collaboration with artists of various disciplines: the musicians John Cage and David Tudor, the fashion designer Romeo Gigli and the architect Benedetta Tagliabue. Merce Cunningham had a very important influence on the 40s and 50s visual art, establishing profitable relationships of collaboration with some of the great protagonists of American contemporary art, from Robert Rauschemberg to Andy Warhol, from Frank Stella to Jasper Johns, but also with Bruce Nauman,
In April 2009 the Brooklyn Academy of Music of New York hosted the choreographer’s last work with the explicitly auto-biographical title Nearly Ninety. The Cunningham Dance Company, made up of 14 dancers, will be performing in a two-year world tour dedicated to the great father of post-modern dance, after which it will close down definitely.
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