MERCE CUNNINGHAM, CLOUDS AND SCREENS by Carol Kaufman Segal

            Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) was a gifted dancer who joined Martha Graham’s company in 1939.  In 1944, he debuted some of his own solo works, and the following year left Martha Graham’s troupe to work on his own.  He continued to develop solo pieces for himself, and in 1953, established the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.  He choreographed his own work using a great deal of music by John Cage, who became his life partner.  He also collaborated with artist Robert Rauschenberg, and eventually with other avante-garde artists including Andy Warhol. 

            Merce Cunningham, Clouds and Screens opened at the Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA) on the same date as did the Rauschenberg exhibition.  Upon entering the lobby of the presentation, visitors are met by Silver Clouds created by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) along with scientist and engineer Billy Kluver.  Dozens of these large pillow-like “clouds,” mixed with air and helium, float around the lobby.  Warhol thought of them as floating paintings that people could play with.  Merce Cunningham saw an exhibition of Silver Clouds when it debuted in 1966 at Leo Castelli Gallery in New York and asked Warhol to modify them as décor for his dance Rain Forest. 

            Charles Atlas created MC9 (Merce Cunningham to the Ninth Power) from videos he had taken during his and Cunningham’s investigation of the relationship of live performance and video documentation.  The exhibition includes excerpts from 21 of Charles Atlas and Merce Cunningham’s “dances for camera.”  Two videos of Cunningham dances are shown as well, Changeling, a solo piece for which Rauschenberg designed the set, costume, and lighting, and a duet for which Rauschenberg redesigned costumes and lighting.

            Curator of this exhibition is Jose Luis Blondet, Curator of Special Initiatives.  It will remain on view at LACMA through March 31, 2019, at the Los Angeles Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.  The museum is closed on Tuesdays.  For tickets and/or further information, go online at lacma.org, or call (323) 857-6010.