joan jonas the shape, the scent, the feel of things · dia art foundation presents joan jonas the...
TRANSCRIPT
Joan Jonas The Shape, the Scent, the Feel of Things
With original piano score composed and performed by Jason Moran
Dia:Beacon Riggio Galleries 3 Beekman Street Beacon New York 1 2508 845 440 0100 www.diaart.org
~
Joan
Jon
as's
com
mis
sion
at
Dia
:Bea
con
has
been
mad
e po
ssib
le b
y th
e D
utch
ess
Cou
nty
Art
s
Cou
ncil;
the
Dys
on F
ound
atio
n; J
ean
Ste
in,
JKW
Fou
ndat
ion;
and
the
New
Yor
k S
tate
Cou
ncil
on t
he A
rts.
Sup
port
for
vid
eo p
rodu
ctio
n du
ring
this
pro
ject
was
pro
vide
d, i
n pa
rt,
by t
he R
enai
ssan
ce
Soc
iety
, C
hica
go,
and
the
Mas
sach
uset
ts
Inst
itute
of
Tec
hnol
ogy.
Joan
Jon
as w
ould
lik
e to
tha
nk M
yles
Keh
oe o
f C
ape
Bre
ton,
Nov
a S
cotia
, fo
r fin
ding
and
le
ndin
g pr
ops;
Joo
st E
lffer
s fo
r do
natin
g pr
epar
ed c
anva
ses;
Lyn
ne C
ooke
; S
imon
e F
orti;
Ada
m P
endl
eton
; Jo
an S
imon
; an
d Ju
dy a
nd P
hilli
p T
uwal
etst
iwa.
She
wou
ld a
lso
like
to t
hank
al
l who
wer
e in
volv
ed i
n th
is p
rodu
ctio
n.
Quo
tatio
ns
from
Aby
War
burg
are
tak
en f
rom
:
Aby
War
burg
, Im
ages
fro
m t
he R
egio
n of
the
Pue
blo
Indi
ans
of N
orth
Am
eric
a, t
rans
. M
icha
el
Ste
inbe
rg
(Ith
aca,
N.Y
.: C
orne
ll U
nive
rsity
Pre
ss,
1995
).
Phi
lippe
-Ala
in M
icha
ud,
Aby
W
arbu
rg a
nd t
he I
mag
e in
Mot
ion,
tra
ns.
Sop
hie
Haw
kes
(New
Y
ork:
Zon
e B
ooks
, 20
04).
Woo
dy G
uthr
ie's
"P
astu
res
of P
lent
y" c
opyr
ight
©
1960
by
TR
O-L
udlo
w
Mus
ic,
BM
I.
Dia
Art
Fo
un
dat
ion
pre
sen
ts
Joan
Jo
nas
T
he
Sh
ape,
th
e S
cen
t,
the
Fee
l o
f T
hin
gs
A p
erfo
rman
ce
bas
ed o
n t
he
wri
tin
gs
of
Ab
y W
arb
urg
O
cto
ber
14,
15,
21,
22,
28,
an
d 2
9, 2
006
at 2
pm
Dia
:Bea
con
, R
igg
io G
alle
ries
Co
nce
ived
an
d d
irec
ted
by
Joan
Jo
nas
Wit
h o
rig
inal
pia
no
sco
re c
om
po
sed
an
d p
erfo
rmed
b
y Ja
son
Mo
ran
perf
orm
ers
Jose
Lu
is B
lon
det
, R
agan
i H
aas,
Jo
an J
on
as
sing
er
Kat
e F
enn
er
live
soun
d Jo
an J
on
as
prod
ucer
Ji
m B
auer
lein
stag
e m
anag
er
Sek
een
a G
avag
an
soun
d de
sign
er
Pat
rick
Hei
lman
assi
stan
t to
Joa
n Jo
nas
Rag
ani
Haa
s
Vid
eo c
on
ceiv
ed a
nd
pro
du
ced
by
Joan
Jo
nas
cam
era
Joan
Jo
nas
vide
o ed
itors
Jo
an J
on
as,
Dav
id D
emp
ewo
lf,
Pia
Lin
dm
an,
Tri
sh M
aud
, Jo
han
na
To
rko
la
vide
o pe
rfom
ers
Rag
ani
Haa
s, G
eoff
Hen
dri
cks,
Jo
an J
on
as, A
nto
nio
Ro
ger
s,
Su
r R
od
ney
Su
r, Z
ina
Art
ist's
Sta
tem
ent
Thi
s pr
ojec
t-T
he
Sha
pe,
the
Sce
nt,
the
Fee
l of
Thi
ngs-
goes
ba
ck t
o a
jour
ney
I
mad
e fo
rty
year
s ag
o to
the
Sou
thw
est,
whe
re I
had
the
opp
ortu
nity
to
see
sev
eral
Hop
i rit
uals
, in
clud
ing
a pe
rfor
man
ce
of t
he H
opi
Sna
ke D
ance
. A
lthou
gh
I ha
ve
neve
r us
ed i
t in
per
form
ance
, th
is v
ery
spec
ial
expe
rienc
e ha
s in
spire
d m
y w
ork
ever
sinc
e. A
bout
te
n ye
ars
ago,
I c
ame
acro
ss a
ref
eren
ce t
o th
e da
nce
in a
n es
say
by
the
Ger
man
art
his
toria
n A
by W
arbu
rg,
in I
mag
es f
rom
the
Reg
ion
of t
he P
uebl
o
Indi
ans
of N
orth
Am
eric
a (t
rans
late
d an
d w
ith a
n in
terp
retiv
e es
say
by M
icha
el T
.
Ste
inbe
rg,
Cor
nell
Uni
vers
ity P
ress
, 19
95).
In h
is i
nves
tigat
ions
, W
arbu
rg
used
pho
togr
aphs
of
art
wor
ks f
rom
diff
eren
t cu
lture
s,
acro
ss d
iffer
ent
cultu
res,
rec
ombi
ned
and
cros
s-re
fere
nced
, to
pro
duce
a
disp
lay,
for
exam
ple,
of
cert
ain
gest
ures
as
po
'lra
yed
by G
reek
s, R
oman
s, I
ndia
ns,
and
so
on.
He
mad
e m
any
such
dis
play
s on
boa
rds
deal
ing
with
var
ious
the
mes
. H
e si
mila
rly
reco
mbi
ned
the
plac
emen
t of
boo
ks i
n hi
s lib
rary
, di
spla
ys t
hat
evok
ed t
he d
iffer
ent
rela
tions
bet
wee
n th
eir
subj
ects
.
Tho
ugh
his
trip
to
the
Sou
thw
est
(whi
ch p
rofo
undl
y al
tere
d hi
s vi
ew o
f ar
t hi
stor
y)
took
pla
ce a
t th
e en
d of
the
nin
etee
nth
cent
ury,
he
did
not
prod
uce
his
fam
ous
text
abou
t hi
s ex
perie
nce
ther
e un
til th
irty
year
s la
ter,
as
he w
as r
ecov
erin
g fr
om a
men
tal
brea
kdow
n at
a s
anat
oriu
m
in S
witz
erla
nd.
He
wro
te i
t as
a c
ure,
or
proo
f of
one
, to
him
self
as m
uch
as t
o hi
s ph
ysic
ians
. A
lthou
gh
he d
id s
ee c
erta
in d
ance
s an
d rit
u
als,
War
burg
ne
ver
saw
the
Hop
i S
nake
Dan
ce,
but
I was
str
uck
by h
is d
escr
iptio
ns
of i
t an
d by
the
dep
th
of h
is c
once
rn
with
the
cul
ture
.
I mad
e an
othe
r tr
ip t
o th
e S
outh
wes
t in
Jan
uary
200
4,
with
a p
roje
ct
like
this
spe
cif
ical
ly i
n m
ind.
I s
taye
d on
the
Hop
i re
serv
atio
n in
Ariz
ona,
and
beg
an a
dia
logu
e w
ith
peop
le
in t
he c
omm
unity
, bu
t I d
id n
ot w
ish
to i
mpo
se o
n, o
r ta
ke a
way
fro
m,
the
Nat
ive
Am
eric
an
peop
le.
I dec
ided
in
stea
d to
ret
urn
to W
arbu
rg's
w
ritin
g.
For
ins
tanc
e, I
foun
d m
ysel
f
focu
sed
on D
Ure
r's M
elan
chol
ia,
repr
oduc
ed
in S
tein
berg
's
essa
y in
the
War
burg
volu
me.
To
me,
Mel
anch
olia
evo
kes
mem
orie
s of
his
tory
as
it im
pact
ed t
he
Am
eric
an
land
scap
e.
l 1 '
In a
sen
se,
I am
app
roac
hing
an
old
exp
erie
nce,
as
War
burg
di
d, d
ecad
es
late
r
thro
ugh
new
wor
k, f
or w
hich
the
wor
ds
are
not
yet
com
plet
ely
pres
ent.
Thi
s
wor
k-in
-pro
gres
s al
so b
uild
s on
Lin
es i
n th
e S
and,
whi
ch I
mad
e in
200
2 fo
r
Doc
umen
ta
11 .
Tha
t pi
ece
cros
scut
H
elen
in
Egy
pt,
the
Hel
en o
f T
roy
myt
h as
view
ed a
nd r
evie
wed
by
the
lmag
ist
poet
H.
D.
(Hild
a D
oolit
tle)
with
the
nar
rativ
e
of h
er a
naly
sis
with
Fre
ud (
Trib
ute
to F
reud
) ju
st b
efor
e W
orld
W
ar I
I, an
exp
erie
nce
that
inc
lude
d w
ritin
g se
ssio
ns.
The
re a
re m
any
obvi
ous
para
llels
bet
wee
n th
e H
. D
.
corp
us
and
that
of
War
burg
. T
he t
itle
of t
his
new
wor
k, T
he S
hape
, th
e S
cent
, th
e
Fee
l of
Thi
ngs,
is q
uote
d fr
om H
. D
:s t
ext.
Thi
s pr
ojec
t is
a r
esul
t of
an
ongo
ing
conc
ern
with
the
sub
ject
of
ritu
al a
nd p
erfo
rm
ance
. O
ne o
f th
e un
derly
ing
them
es o
f m
y w
ork
has
been
my
invo
lvem
ent
with
the
begi
nnin
gs
of e
xpre
ssio
n in
oth
er c
ultu
res
in r
elat
ion
to m
y ow
n. T
here
is
not
alw
ays
a di
rect
re
latio
n be
twee
n th
e im
age
and
the
sour
ce,
but,
of c
ours
e, t
he p
erfo
rman
ce
is t
otal
ly i
nspi
red
by t
hese
sou
rces
, w
hile
it
take
s fo
rm w
ithin
and
is
a re
spon
se t
o a
very
par
ticul
ar s
pace
.
Art
his
toria
n A
by
War
bu
rg,
born
in H
ambu
rg in
186
6, s
tudi
ed a
rcha
eolo
gy a
nd a
rt
hist
ory,
as
wel
l as
med
icin
e, p
sych
olog
y, a
nd th
e hi
stor
y of
r~
ligio
n. A
fter
com
plet
ing
a
doct
oral
the
sis
on S
andr
o B
ottic
elli'
s tw
o pa
intin
gs T
he B
irth
of V
enus
and
Prim
aver
a,
War
burg
wor
ked
in F
lore
nce,
whe
re h
e fu
rthe
r ex
plor
ed R
enai
ssan
ce a
rt.
Dur
ing
War
burg
's t
rave
ls to
Nor
th A
mer
ica
in 1
896,
he
cond
ucte
d re
sear
ch o
n th
e H
opi
Indi
ans.
Upo
n hi
s re
turn
to E
urop
e, h
e fo
unde
d a
libra
ry, t
he K
ultu
rwis
sens
chaf
tlich
e
Bib
lioth
ek W
arbu
rg,
to s
erve
bot
h as
a p
rivat
e co
llect
ion
and
as a
res
ourc
e fo
r
publ
ic e
duca
tion.
In 1
921,
War
burg
, su
fferin
g fr
om d
epre
ssio
n an
d sy
mpt
oms
of s
chiz
ophr
enia
, was
hos
pi
taliz
ed in
Lud
wig
Bin
swan
ger's
neu
rolo
gica
l clin
ic i
n K
reuz
linge
n, S
witz
erla
nd.
He
was
rele
ased
in 1
924,
afte
r de
mon
stra
ting
his
sani
ty b
y gi
ving
an
exte
nded
aca
dem
ic l
ectu
re
and
slid
e pr
esen
tatio
n, "
Imag
es fr
om th
e R
egio
n of
the
Pue
blo
Indi
ans
of N
orth
Am
eric
a;•
to d
octo
rs a
nd fe
llow
pat
ient
s. H
e re
turn
ed to
wor
k at
his
libr
ary
for
the
rem
aini
ng fi
ve
year
s of
his
life
, pro
duci
ng p
relim
inar
y m
ater
ial f
or t
he n
ever
-com
plet
ed M
nem
osyn
e
Atla
s, a
them
atic
sys
tem
for
the
stud
y of
imag
es.
Bio
gra
ph
ies
Jose
Lu
is B
lon
det
is
the
adm
inis
trat
or
of e
duca
tion
prog
ram
s at
Dia
:Bea
con.
H
e
grad
uate
d fr
om t
he C
ente
r fo
r C
urat
oria
l S
tudi
es,
Bar
d C
olle
ge,
in 2
003.
Kat
e F
enn
er h
as b
een
sing
ing
and
tour
ing
sinc
e sh
e w
as a
teen
ager
in
Tor
onto
,
Can
ada,
whe
re s
he f
orm
ed a
sou
l/r&
b ba
nd t
hat
tour
ed t
hrou
gh C
anad
a fo
r te
n
year
s. A
fter
mov
ing
to N
ew Y
ork
City
, F
enne
r m
ade
albu
ms
for
the
next
eig
ht y
ears
with
for
mer
ban
d m
embe
r C
hris
Bro
wn,
inc
ludi
ng
Go
On
and
Song
s. H
er d
ebut
solo
alb
um,
"Hor
ses
and
Bur
ning
Car
s;'
was
rel
ease
d in
200
3.
Her
new
alb
um i
s
due
out
in th
e fa
ll of
200
6.
Rag
ani
Haa
s, f
orm
er s
tude
nt o
f Jo
an J
onas
, is
a v
isua
l ar
tist
and
a pe
rfor
mer
. S
he
also
tea
ches
at
the
Land
esak
adem
ie S
chlo
ss
Rot
enfe
ls i
n K
arls
ruhe
and
is
part
of
the
art-
rese
arch
gro
up "
fors
chun
gsgr
upp
\_f
" in
Sw
itzer
land
. S
ince
199
9 sh
e ha
s
perf
orm
ed i
n th
e w
ork
of J
onas
in G
erm
any,
Hol
land
, P
olan
d, E
ngla
nd,
Can
ada,
and
the
Uni
ted
Sta
tes.
Haa
s liv
es a
nd w
orks
in
Stu
ttgar
t an
d N
ew Y
ork.
Joan
Jo
nas
was
bor
n in
193
6 in
New
Yor
k, w
here
she
cur
rent
ly l
ives
and
wor
ks.
She
rec
eive
d a
B.A
. in
Art
His
tory
fro
m M
ount
Hol
yoke
Col
lege
, in
Mas
sach
uset
ts
in 1
958,
and
stu
died
sc
ulpt
ure
at t
he B
osto
n M
useu
m o
f F
ine
Art
s fr
om 1
958
to
1961
. S
he r
ecei
ved
an M
.F.A
. in
scul
ptur
e fr
om C
olum
bia
Uni
vers
ity,
New
Yor
k, in
1965
. S
ince
200
0, J
onas
has
taug
ht a
t M
assa
chus
etts
In
stitu
te o
f T
echn
olog
y,
Cam
brid
ge.
Her
firs
t pe
rfor
man
ce r
etro
spec
tive
was
at
the
Uni
vers
ity A
rt M
useu
m,
Ber
kele
y (1
980)
. S
ince
the
lat
e 19
60s,
he
r w
ork
has
been
exh
ibite
d in
tern
atio
nally
,
incl
udin
g at
the
Mus
eum
of
Mod
ern
Art
, N
ew Y
ork;
the
Whi
tney
Mus
eum
of
Am
eric
an A
rt,
New
Yor
k; th
e In
stitu
te o
f th
e C
onte
mpo
rary
A
rt,
Bos
ton;
The
Kitc
hen,
New
Yor
k; a
nd P
at H
earn
Gal
lery
, N
ew Y
ork.
Jon
as h
as h
ad m
ajor
ret
rosp
ectiv
es
at
the
Que
ens
Mus
eum
of
Art
, N
ew Y
ork
(200
3);
the
Ste
delij
k M
useu
m,
Am
ster
dam
(199
4),
and
Sta
dtsg
aler
ie S
tuttg
art,
Stu
ttgar
t, G
erm
any
(200
0),
and
was
rep
rese
nted
in D
ocum
enta
11
, K
asse
l, G
erm
any
(200
2).
Her
mos
t re
cent
one
-per
son
mus
eum
exhi
bitio
n w
as h
eld
at t
he J
eu d
e P
aum
e in
Par
is.
She
is
curr
ently
wor
king
on
a
show
for
the
spr
ing
of 2
007
at M
AC
BA
, B
arce
lona
.
Bor
n in
197
5 in
Hou
ston
, T
exas
, Jas
on
Mo
ran
beg
an s
tudy
ing
the
pian
o at
age
six
,
a re
luct
ant
stud
ent
until
he
expe
rienc
ed t
he s
ound
s of
jazz
lege
nd T
helo
niou
s M
onk,
an e
arly
rol
e m
odel
in
his
crea
tive
deve
lopm
ent.
Mor
an w
ent
on t
o at
tend
Hou
ston
's
Hig
h S
choo
l fo
r th
e P
erfo
rmin
g an
d V
isua
l Art
s an
d th
e M
anha
ttan
Sch
ool
of M
usic
,
draw
n th
ere
by th
e pr
ospe
ct
of s
tudy
ing
with
pia
nist
Jak
i Bya
rd.
He
sign
ed w
ith
Blu
e N
ote
Rec
ords
in
1998
at
age
23.
Mor
an's
lat
est
albu
m i
s ca
lled
Art
ist
in
Res
iden
ce,
whi
ch i
s hi
s se
vent
h re
leas
e w
ith B
lue
Not
e R
ecor
ds.
Thi
s al
bum
fea
ture
s th
ree
com
mis
sion
s fr
om A
mer
ican
art
s in
stitu
tions
: T
he W
alke
r A
rt C
ente
r in
Min
neap
olis
(M
ILE
ST
ON
E),
Ja
zz a
t Li
ncol
n C
ente
r (R
AIN
), a
nd D
ia A
rt F
ound
atio
n
thro
ugh
Joan
Jon
as (
The
Sha
pe,
the
Sce
nt,
the
Fee
l of
Thi
ngs)
. A
rtis
t in
Res
iden
ce
feat
ures
gue
st a
ppea
ranc
es
by a
rtis
ts J
oan
Jona
s an
d A
dria
n P
iper
. M
oran
was
rece
ntly
aw
arde
d th
e 20
05
Pia
nist
of
the
Yea
r and
Sm
all
Ens
embl
e of
the
Yea
r
(The
Ban
dwag
on)
by t
he J
azz
Jour
nalis
t's A
ssoc
iatio
n an
d th
e fir
st-e
ver
2005
Pla
yboy
Mag
azin
e Ja
zz A
rtis
t of
the
Yea
r.