Merce Cunningham

East Village, New York, 1978. William Burroughs, Patti Smith, Frank Zappa, Allen Ginsberg, and other brilliant minds come together in an explosion of ideas, art, and rebellion.

The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today's world.

The iconic Merce Cunningham and the last generation of his dance company is profiled in Alla Kovgan's 3D documentary, through recreations of his landmark works and archival footage of Cunningham, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.

In his book "1984", George Orwell saw the television of the future as a control instrument in the hands of Big Brother. Right at the start of the much-anticipated Orwellian year, Paik and Co. were keen to demonstrate satellite TV's ability to serve positive ends-- Namely, the intercontinental exchange of culture, combining both highbrow and entertainment elements. A live broadcast shared between WNET TV in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, linked up with broadcasters in Germany and South Korea, reached a worldwide audience of over 10 or even 25 million (including the later repeat transmissions).

A compilation of avant-garde artwork and talent of the mid to late 20th century hosted by Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Merce by Merce by Paik is a two-part tribute to choreographer Merce Cunningham and artist Marcel Duchamp. The first section, “Blue Studio: Five Segments”, is a work of video-dance produced by Merce Cunningham and videomaker Charles Atlas. The second part, produced by Paik and Shigeko Kubota, further queries the relationship between everyday gestures and formal notions of dance.

Sistine Chapel is an audio-visual collage of new footage and samples from Paik’s past videos, which featured many of his friends, collaborators, and public figures. It was Paik’s own way of summarizing his artistic career with video. The film installation consists of fast-paced and overlapping images that completely cover the gallery walls and ceiling—one of the most under-appreciated parts of architecture, according to Paik. With its electronic visuals and booming audio, interspersed with periods of silence, the immersive installation stands in stark contrast to the experience of its namesake.

A multi-character dance drama. A newlywed pioneer couple, guided by a reverent Revivalist and the wise Pioneer Woman, joyously celebrate their life on the American frontier - dancing, courting, and sharing “Simple Gifts” - only to be shaken by the threat of war before finding solace and communal hope in a final hymn-like gathering.

The choreographer Merce Cunningham working with the musician John Cage and the painter Robert Rauschenberg.

Performed like a series of vaudeville scenes that overlap, Antic Meet consists of ten playful and comedic numbers. The curtains opened with Cunningham moving among the other dancers as a clown-like figure "who falls in love with a society whose rules he doesn't know," and concludes much in the same way, as he attempts to keep up with the dancers, each with their own movements, as they dance diagonally across the stage. Cage provided the musical accompaniment, using a version of Concert for Piano and Orchestra, and Rauschenberg designed the costumes, which included fur coats and parachute dresses over black leotards.

This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.

A history of the work of Merce Cunningham.

A multi-media event with choreographed dance, mobile decor, variable lighting, multiple film projection, and live-electronic music activated by the dancers' movements.

A 1987 short film from acclaimed dance choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Experimental composer John Cage tours Europe with The Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1966.

This film includes important examples of the Robert Rauschenberg's diverse and extraordinary accomplishments, tracing his development from his student years and his earliest experiments to a retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It features Rauschenberg, John Cage and Merce Cunningham, and was released in 1979.

Observational documentary about the Merce Cunningham Dance Company rehearsing throughout the summer of 1967 in New York.

A feature length film from acclaimed dance choreographer Merce Cunningham.