Love, Icebox
Letters from John Cage to Merce Cunningham
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Distributed Art Publishers
Published:17th Sep '19
Should be back in stock very soon
This collection reveals the intimate letters between John Cage and Merce Cunningham, showcasing their evolving relationship from teacher-student to romantic partners.
In Love, Icebox, readers are invited to explore the early correspondence between John Cage and Merce Cunningham, shedding light on their profound relationship. This collection of 39 letters, written between 1942 and 1946, reveals Cage's deep affection for Cunningham, marking the evolution of their bond from a teacher-student dynamic to a romantic partnership. Their initial meeting at the Cornish School in Seattle in the 1930s set the stage for a connection that would flourish in Chicago, where their love story truly began amidst the vibrant art scene of the time.
The letters, which commence in January following Cunningham's performance in March 1942, showcase a range of emotions—from passion and confusion to moments of poetic reflection. Cage's writing captures the complexities of love and longing, offering insights into his personal struggles and artistic inspirations. These letters are not just intimate exchanges; they also provide a glimpse into the creative minds of two influential figures in the world of art and dance.
Love, Icebox is meticulously organized, with transcriptions of the letters presented chronologically and occasionally accompanied by facsimile reproductions. Laura Kuhn, who served as Cage's assistant and is now the director of the John Cage Trust, enriches the narrative with an introduction, postscript, and commentary. The inclusion of photographs and artifacts from their shared life adds depth, allowing readers to connect with the essence of their long-lasting partnership.
Illuminating; hopefully we can expect the John Cage Trust to produce more fresh books, each as surprising and valuable as this. -- Richard Kostelanetz * Rain Taxi Review of Books *
Love, Icebox is extremely gratifying and nearly guiltily so. A book of letters dated between 1942 to 1946 from John Cage to Merce Cunningham, Love, Icebox illustrates at least one perspective on the beginning and formation of Cage and Cunningham’s relationship. -- Perwana Nazif * Los Angeles Review of Books *
Love, Icebox: Letters from John Cage to Merce Cunningham lets us into one side of the storied 20th-century partnership between the composer and dancer/choreographer. As a collection of beautifully presented photographs and transcripts, the book expresses the foundation of the couple’s relationship, the development of Cage’s creative life, and the inevitable merging of the two. -- Blair Johnson * Full Stop *
An intimate look inside the long-standing romantic and creative collaboration between two of the titans of the Modernist avant-garde: Merce, the fierce dancer, and John, the cerebral composer. -- Rumaan Alam * New Republic *
Preserved by Cunningham and discovered after his death in 2009, [the letters] constitute the foundation stones of one of the great Modernist love affairs, one that began as a teacher-student crush (Cage was the teacher) and blossomed into an artistic collaboration and 50-year marriage. We only get Cage’s view of the affair in the letters, but the emotions expressed are intense enough to speak for two... -- Holland Cotter * New York Times *
John Cage’s onetime assistant and now the director of the John Cage Trust — collects a series of 39 letters that the composer wrote to the dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham during the 1940s. What’s lovely about this slim volume is how it traces the full arc of a relationship. -- Henry Alford * New York Times: Book Review *
To see how Cage's brilliant mind transposed disparate elements around him into an ongoing legacy inspires me to keep returning to his challenging, nonlinear work. -- Dave Wheeler * Shelf Awareness *
ISBN: 9781942884385
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
144 pages