first edition
[Rome: Contemporanea, c.1973-74]
by [AVANT-GARDE PERFORMANCE] GLASS, Philip; Yvonne Rainer; Simone Forti; Charlemagne Palestine; Joan Jonas; others
[Rome: Contemporanea, c.1973-74]. Five pictorial, photo-offset flyers, printed recto-only in black, on white wove stock. A few faint spots of foxing, still very Near Fine. Dimensions vary, the smallest piece measuring ca. 30cm x 20cm; the largest 37cm x 35cm. All near fine but for "Festival di Musica e Danza," which is lightly chipped at margins with a repaired tear at upper right corner.
A handsome assortment of performance broadsides from a formative period in the Italian postmodernist avant-garde. "Contemporanea," an international festival of avant-garde art, music, and performance, took place in the underground car-park of Rome's Villa Borghese between November, 1973 and February, 1974. It is widely recognized as an epochal event – in the words of one historian, Contemporanea was "...one of the most important exhibitions of the twentieth century. Its aim was to compete with the great periodical shows, such as Harald Szeemann's Documenta 5 ...these exhibitions were proving to be important intersections, not only for the art system per se but also for fields of research such as city planning, theater, and independent music, which had not yet found a mode of presentation outside the underground scenes" (Luigia Lonardelli, "Contemporanea: An Exhibition in an Underground Car Park," Art Journal, Spring 2018).
This group of broadsides was collected by dancer Jean Shahn, wife of American sculptor Jonathan Shahn; both resided in Rome for the duration of the festival. The events advertised here reflect Shahn's interest in movement and performance, and they provide a compelling picture of the heady early days of experimental postmodernist art – included are works by dancer Simone Forti; multimedia performance artist Charlemagne Palestine; choreographer Yvonne Rainer; Joan Jonas' legendary experimental video/performance piece "Vertical Roll"; and a performance of Philip Glass' "Music With Changing Parts." Also included are two performance broadsides for events at Fabio Sargentini's seminal postmodernist garage-gallery, Galleria l'Attico; one for a performance of choreographer Steve Paxton's "Contact Improvisations," the other for a 1972 "Festival di Musica e Danza," featuring music by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Charlemagne Palestine and performance pieces by Joan Jonas, Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti, and others. Very little ephemera from these two venues has appeared in the marketplace; these examples are both visually interesting and extremely well-preserved. (Inventory #: 84833)
A handsome assortment of performance broadsides from a formative period in the Italian postmodernist avant-garde. "Contemporanea," an international festival of avant-garde art, music, and performance, took place in the underground car-park of Rome's Villa Borghese between November, 1973 and February, 1974. It is widely recognized as an epochal event – in the words of one historian, Contemporanea was "...one of the most important exhibitions of the twentieth century. Its aim was to compete with the great periodical shows, such as Harald Szeemann's Documenta 5 ...these exhibitions were proving to be important intersections, not only for the art system per se but also for fields of research such as city planning, theater, and independent music, which had not yet found a mode of presentation outside the underground scenes" (Luigia Lonardelli, "Contemporanea: An Exhibition in an Underground Car Park," Art Journal, Spring 2018).
This group of broadsides was collected by dancer Jean Shahn, wife of American sculptor Jonathan Shahn; both resided in Rome for the duration of the festival. The events advertised here reflect Shahn's interest in movement and performance, and they provide a compelling picture of the heady early days of experimental postmodernist art – included are works by dancer Simone Forti; multimedia performance artist Charlemagne Palestine; choreographer Yvonne Rainer; Joan Jonas' legendary experimental video/performance piece "Vertical Roll"; and a performance of Philip Glass' "Music With Changing Parts." Also included are two performance broadsides for events at Fabio Sargentini's seminal postmodernist garage-gallery, Galleria l'Attico; one for a performance of choreographer Steve Paxton's "Contact Improvisations," the other for a 1972 "Festival di Musica e Danza," featuring music by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Charlemagne Palestine and performance pieces by Joan Jonas, Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti, and others. Very little ephemera from these two venues has appeared in the marketplace; these examples are both visually interesting and extremely well-preserved. (Inventory #: 84833)
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