The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
VINCENT ASTOR GALLERY

October 15-January 8

Mirrors to the Past: Ancient Greece and Avant-Garde America

Exhibition website

Gallery hours:
Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat: 12-6pm; Thur: 12-8pm
Closed Sun, Mon and public holidays

Isador Duncan at the Parthenon, 1904. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Directional sketches (detail) by Judith Malina for the 1967 Living Theatre production of Antigone. Living Theatre Records, Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

American artists have long been moved by the august cultures of ancient Greece. Motivated by the enlightened minds that produced works of incomparable beauty and emotional resonance, they in turn forged new directions, discarded rules, and redefined their art forms. Mirrors to the Past draws on rare material housed in the research collections of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The multimedia exhibit focuses on the liberating force of archaic and classical Greece and the countless 20th-century American choreographers, theater artists, composers, visual artists, and designers it inspired.

Maverick composers and jazz innovators redefined their music in favor of just intonation and archaic Hellenic and Mediterranean modes. Hellenic art and narratives inspired the experimental choreographers of the early 20th century, among them Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn, and later generations of modern dance creators, from Martha Graham to Clarinda Mac Low. Revivals and reinterpretations of Greek tragedies gave theater creators throughout the century a chance to investigate new forms of performance and production. Annotated scripts, scores, and designs document presentations by the Federal Theatre Project, the Living Theatre, and many other experimental companies. An online version of the show accompanies the gallery exhibition.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation.