Cunningham, Merce. (1919-2009) [Peterich, Gerda. (1906-1974)]
Signed Photograph in "Sixteen Dances for Soloist and Company of Three"
An important and early signed original Gerda Peterich photograph of the American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant garde for more than 50 years, shown mid-leap in an image capturing a 1951 performance of Sixteen Dances for Soloist and Company of Three, the first dance in which Cunningham made use of chance operations. Cunningham has inscribed "To Paul, / with best wishes / Merce Cunningham" in black ink to the lower right corner. Light wear to edges, particularly along the right side, overall in fine condition. 8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm.). The present photograph is reproduced on page 59 of the Aperture publication Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years (David Vaughan, ed. Melissa Harris)."This dance was the first in which Cunningham made use of chance operations. The choreography was concerned with the nine permanent emotions of Indian aesthetics. The order, determined by chance, was: anger, the humorous, sorrow, the heroic, the odious, the wondrous, fear, the erotic, and tranquility. The first seven were expressed in solos, the last two by a duet and a quartet. Each of the solos was followed by an interlude that could be a trio, a duet, or a quartet. The final quartet ('Tranquility') was choreographed by a chance procedure with a different gamut of movements for each dancer. John Cage’s music was for piano and small orchestra, with a set of 64 sounds for the first dance; for each pair of dances eight sounds were replaced by eight others, so that by the end there was a completely new set of sounds. The colors of the costumes followed a similar sequence, from dark to light." (Merce Cunningham Trust)
Born in Munich and trained in Berlin, the photographer Gerda Peterich sailed for America in August, 1939 on the next to last ship to leave Germany before World War II. She established a photographic studio at 332 West 50th Street in New York, where she specialized in portraiture and dance and also taught for two and a half years at The School of Modern Photography. Beginning in the early 1940s, Peterich made a name for herself as a photographer of dance and dancers and became a staff photographer for Dance Magazine, her subjects including Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Pearl Primas, Ruth St. Denis, Jerome Robbins and the young Merce Cunningham. Peterich's aim was "the interpretation of the dancer's personality, the dancer's personal style, or a special dance."
From the collection of Paul McMahon, a critic, photographer and artist who worked for more than 13 years touring with Marlene Dietrich as the icon’s stage manager, announcer, dresser, secretary and escort, and later spent 25 years as an arts and entertainment reviewer and photographer with Gay Community News, Esplanade, Tommy’s Connection, The Mirror, Bay Windows and other publications. (20872)
Signed Photograph Dance