Field and Figures
FIELD AND FIGURES
February 17, 1989, World Premiere, Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN; City Center, New York, NY; other venues throughout the United States
Commissioned by:
Merce Cunningham Dance Company, New York, NY
Dimensions:
Backdrops: H 30’ x W 60’ x D 40’ (H 914 x W 1828 x D 1219 cm.) Variable according to the stage dimensions.
Pendant: Both circle and square measure 4’.
Rods: H 15’
Materials:
Copper, scrim, fiberglass, spandex, aluminum, white light, and gold
Field & Figures took place against a smoky backdrop dotted with points of cobalt light. A horizontal, striped scrim just in front of the backdrop accentuated the fluid movements of the dancers, costumed in corresponding horizontal bands. The dancers were captured in dramatic vertical beams of light (rain lights) as they moved across the stage. Brilliant red rods swayed to stage left, measuring the passage of time. A revolving pendant at stage right randomly reflected light across the audience.
The component visual components of Field & Figures were conceived to augment the movement of the company of dancers as a whole by placing them within a regimented, horizontal construct, which accentuated the fluid choreography and unified form and ground – the field and figures.
Elements
Sets:
Opaque Smoky Backdrop Dotted with Points of Cobalt Light, Translucent Horizontal Striped Scrim, Gilt Circle and Copper Square Pendant (Revolving), Three Red Rods (Swaying)
Costumes:
All fourteen costumes were banded with the same increment as the striped scrim drop behind them. Bright red lines crossed certain figures.
Lighting:
The lighting design accommodated an element of chance and evolved over the work’s duration, beginning with dramatic, vertical beams of light (rain lights.) The work was punctuated by intermittent occurrences of reflected light from the revolving gilt pendant.
Site Description:
The work was created for a typical proscenium stage that varied in size, depending on venue.