- Additional Authors
- Found In
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Description
- 1 streaming video file (124 min) : sound, color
- Summary
- The first part of an interview with artist and former Merce Cunningham Dance Company artistic advisor Jasper Johns. The footage begins with documentarian/cameraman Elliot Caplan setting up prior to the interview. MCDC archivist David Vaughan begins by asking Johns about Cunningham work which hed seen prior to meeting Merce Cunningham and John Cage. He also speaks about his initial encounters with the duo (4:16). He then talks about his collaboration with Robert Rauschenberg in co-designing sets and costumes for Cunningham pieces (13:00). He is then asked about various reported anecdotes regarding Cage and Cunninghams experiences while on tour (21:05). He talks about the work of other artists, choreographers and dancers in the creative scene of the 1960s. (23:00) Vaughan asks about a season on Broadway for the company which Johns produced and co-sponsored in the late 1960s, marking one of Cunninghams first large-scale NYC appearances. This evolves into a larger conversation regarding the founding and early years of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, as well as a consideration of the composition of the dance troupes earliest audiences (27:00). Johns then discusses the effect of Cage and Cunninghams work and his personal connection with them on his own creative process, response to criticism and other elements of artistic life (38:13). He then talks about the ways in which Cage and Cunninghams personalities balanced each other (53:00). Vaughan then asks about the genesis of Johns advisory position within the Cunningham company and the milieu and methods surrounding his work in that position (55:25). Following the end of this portion (63:09), Caplan and his crew make some adjustments and move the interviewee to a different location (all shown on camera). Johns also runs across the road to speak to a neighbor. As the interview resumes, he is asked about anecdotes regarding the creation of various Cunningham pieces (69:53). At the end of this section, the interview breaks temporarily, and various footage of Caplan taking test shots and atmosphere shots both outside and inside Johns studio ensues. The interview proper then continues with a discussion of aesthetic elements of Johns design for some Cunningham pieces (100:00) Johns then considers artistic commonalities between his work and Cunninghams as a whole, as well as the evolution of Cunninghams choreographic approach over time (107:30). The interview ends abruptly. Its continuation may be found under call number MGZIDF 5048.
- Alternative Title
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Moving image materials.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Dance.
- Music.
- Video.
- Interviews.
- Nonfiction films.
- Note
- Title provided by cataloger, based on original container label.
- Second part of interview may be found under call number *MGZIDF 5048.
- Access (note)
- Patrons can access streaming video file online only on site at the Library for the Performing Arts.
- Credits (note)
- System Details (note)
- Source (note)
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Contents
- The majority of the interview is shot outside, and construction and airplane noise can make some responses difficult to hear.
- Call Number
- *MGZIDF 5053
- OCLC
- 950971128
- Title
Interview with Jasper Johns, 1st Tape, 1991
- Production
1991.
- Country of Producing Entity
United States.
- Type of Content
two-dimensional moving image
- Type of Medium
video
computer
- Type of Carrier
online resource
- Performer
Jasper Johns, interviewee; David Vaughan, interviewer; Elliot Caplan, interviewer/filmmaker.
- Credits
Elliot Caplan, camera.
- Event
Recorded 1991 Sharon, Massachusetts.
- System Details
Streaming video.
- Original Version
Original format: 1 videocassette (Video8) ; 8mm.
- Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming video file online only on site at the Library for the Performing Arts.
- Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Johns, Jasper, 1930- interviewee.
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Caplan, Elliot, camera.
Caplan, Elliot, interviewer.
Caplan, Elliot, director.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation donor.
- Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Moving image materials.
- Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Research Call Number
*MGZIDF 5053