Michael Clark - by Suzanne Cotter & Robert Violette (Hardcover)

About the Book

Edited by Suzanne Cotter, Robert Violette. Text by Michael Bracewell, Suzanne Cotter, Stephanie Jordan. Interviews with Charles Atlas, Michael Clark, Merce Cunningham, Kate Coyne, Sophie Fiennes, Richard Glasstone, Matthew Hawkins, Melissa Hetherington, Sarah Lucas, Judith Mackrell, Steven Scott, Susan Stenger, Stevie Stewart, Cerith Wyn Evans, et al.

Book Synopsis

Notorious for his continually subversive takes on classical dance, Michael Clark is without doubt one of the most important dancers and choreographers of our time. He has created some of contemporary dance's finest productions, often using leftfield rock music (most famously in his fantastic collaboration with The Fall, I Am Curious, Orange). Situated at the heart of the British postpunk art scene, Clark is much admired for his judicious choice of collaborators, such as designers Bodymap, artists Cerith Wyn Evans, Leigh Bowery, Charles Atlas, Peter Doig and Sarah Lucas, film director Peter Greenaway (Clark played Caliban in Prospero's Books) and bands The Fall, Laibach and Wire. This monograph, the first on this major artist, celebrates the whole of Michael Clark's career to date, from the late 70s to the present. Rich in visual and archival material, it contains new essays on Clark's work, photography by Hugo Glendinning, Richard Haughton, Nick Knight, David LaChapelle, Chris Nash and others, plus interviews with many of Clark's collaborators from the worlds of dance, art, fashion and music. Limited edition photographs are available from the publisher.

Michael Clark set up his own dance company in 1984, at the age of 22. He immediately won the admiration of Rudolf Nureyev, who commissioned ballets from Clark for the repertoire at the Paris Opera. Clark has also been the subject of numerous films and documentaries, including the fictional biography Hail the New Puritan by Charles Atlas and The Late Michael Clark, directed by Sophie Fiennes.

Review Quotes

His pieces have engaged with, and reflected on (usually with the same mordant wit), the themes and preoccupations of the 'Sensation' generation of British artists, who were contemporaneous with Clark; the wonder of his work is the way it utilizes the formalist traditions of dance, while always seeking out visual, cultural, and aural reference points entirely alien to the discipline-including fashion.--Mark Holgate "Vogue"