The CNDB media library recommendation in February: Trisha Brown

“Dancing on the edge is the only place to be.” (Trisha Brown)

Because we already told you about the Modina project, which in February will bring together artists 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐅𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐢 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐨𝐮𝐢, 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧, 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐬𝐳 𝐎𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐤𝐢 and 𝐋𝐞́𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐞́𝐝𝐢𝐧 in a residency at CNDB to dedicate a work to Trisha Brown, today we recommend, from the CNDB Media Library, three books about the famous American choreographer and dancer, a founding member of the Judson Dance Theatre performance group (1962-1967), who revolutionized modern dance by inventing a new performance language based on gravitational play and movement in flow.

Mesquita, André (ed.),Trisha Brown: Choreographing Life, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, 2020

The book presents a considerable archive on Trisha Brown, with drawings and photographs showing her contributions to the construction of postmodern dance principles. Brown’s choreography demonstrates a knowledge of space and visuality, as indicated by the artistic process evident in the drawings and diagrams included in this publication. Her work shows the extent to which movement is an artistic language that reflects the complex relationship between body and mind. The volume is a comprehensive tribute to one of the central figures of postmodern dance in America. “Do my movement and my thinking have an intimate connection? First of all, I don’t think my body doesn’t think.”

Histoire(s) et Lectures: Trisha Brown/ Emmanuelle Huynh, Les Presses du Réel, 2012

From 1992 to 1999, Emmanuelle Huynh conducted a series of interviews with Trisha Brown. In this work we discover a dialogue between artists, in which Emmanuelle Huynh’s questions reveal her concerns as a young choreographer and her evolution, as well as the nature of her vision of dance in general and a personal approach to Trisha Brown’s signature work.

Eleey, Petre (ed.), Trisha Brown: So That The Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing, Walker Art Center, 2008

Trisha Brown has been making drawings and other performative works beyond the stage that integrate the performing and visual arts for many years. Drawing has long figured prominently in her practice, moving from a schematic compositional tool to a broader investigation of the limits of her own body. Whether working within a sheet of paper, on a wall or on stage, Brown enjoys the interplay between structure and improvisation, repetition and invention, and choice and chance. This volume, published to accompany an exhibition at the Walker Art Center dedicated to the American choreographer, presents a wide-ranging survey of her visual practice. Featuring over 40 drawings, it includes essays by the exhibition curator as well as a study of Brown’s drawing vocabulary.

Discover other books about performing arts by visiting the CNDB Media Library here.

The Books on the dancefloor recommendations series continues in March!