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FRONTIER: "Frontier was Graham's second direct exploration of the American theme. This dance, which lasted only seven minutes, was a solo, danced by Martha Graham. `Frontier' used space expansively. The solo figure in `Frontier' evoked the idea of a particular type of person, the nineteenth-century pioneer woman, through her movement and her costume: Graham wore a stylished version of a nineteenth-century homespun dress. (Thomas, 117). The movement was outward-directed. In comparison with her dance `Lamentation' (1930), which was minimalist and introspective, `Frontier' was positive and outward-going. It was the beginning of Graham's development towards an integrated dance theatre. This was the first time that she used decor, designed by the sculptor ISAMU NOGUCHI. The frontier post or fence was indicated by a short barrier of two horizontal bars at the centre-back of the stage. "The setting evoked the vastness of the American landscape before it was fully tamed by settlers. The sense of space that `Frontier' celebrated can also be found in the structurally horizontal landscapes of nineteenth- century American luminist painters such as Martin Johnson Heade and John F. Kensett" (Thomas 118)" [from:] http://www2.let.uu.nl/solis/ams/xroads/dance.htm Queens TRIBUNE, 19 Jan 2005: " The current exhibit is Noguchi and Graham, a selection of nine sets that NOGUCHI designed for Martha Graham, which is on view until May. The discussions, held on the second Sunday of each month, will bring together dancers, choreographers and set designers to explore the relationship between the visual and the performing arts is the focus of the exhibit. According to the museums director of education and public programming, Shirley Taylor, Noguchis work is ripe for discussion and contextualization. He was exploring other media at a time when it wasnt the norm, she said. The first panel discussion will be moderated by Harvey Lichtenstein, the director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Lichtenstein transformed Brooklyns cultural outpost into the epicenter of cutting-edge dance and culture. Joining him will be choreographers Bill T. Jones, Molissa Fenley and Ralph Lemon. Also on the panel will be sculptors Bjorn Amelan and Nari Ward, and painter Roy Fowler. The seven participants will talk about the collaborative process of integrating the visual and performing arts. We set out to find artists who were working in the same vein as Noguchi and Graham, Taylor said. Noguchi himself felt that the set pieces he made for Graham were meaningless without her presence. (Graham) so absorbed them completely that I could not claim they were mine for they were hers, he said. They were parts of her anatomy, so to speak, and she could use them in ways I could not even imagine. I just merely tried to become part of her as she talked to me. Subsequent panel discussions will also center around art, architecture and set design, until the Graham exhibit closes in May. Future guests will include architect Hugh Hardy, set designer Ming Cho Lee and director Julie Taymor." <http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1863&dept_id=152670&newsid=13695471&PAG=461&rfi=9> "Sets and Costumes for Dance and Theatre" <http://www.noguchi.org/setlist.html> also, please SEE: <http://www.noguchi.org/intextdance.html> "Returning to New York in 1932, he soon began designing sets for dance pioneer Martha Graham. Exploring the relationships of space between the changing shapes of the dancers, NOGUCHI continued as Graham's principal set designer for the next twenty years. His sets became integral to the performances, the dancers moving, not in front of Noguchi's designs, but in, on, and around them." HUMANITIES, May/Jun97, Vol. 18, Issue 3 "the Martha Graham Dance Company... Graham, who died in 1991, changed the face of 20th century dance with her striking works. Though many of her dances were inspired by ancient Greek myths and Biblical passages, she managed to convey modern psychological, political and social concepts. Among the six different works performed, "Appalachian Spring," a simple tale of a pioneer wedding, captured the spirit of hope and freedom Americans felt following the end of World War II. "Embattled Garden" examined human relationships in a twist on the Adam and Eve story. In all of the works, the stark set pieces by sculptor Isamu NOGUCHI were the perfect backdrop for the angular, intense steps Graham created." <http://www.dailypress.com/features/columnists/dp-nicholsonmay15,1,7833726.column?coll=dp-features-columnists> <http://www.enotes.com/martha-graham-qn/63842> Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life: Topics for Discussion:1. How did Martha Graham's ideas of dance differ from the traditions of classical ballet? 2. Part of Graham's success came from surrounding herself with supportive associates. What did Louis Horst, Erick Hawkins, Isamu NOGUCHI, and Ron Protas contribute to ... |
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