Accession Number
2009/1.489

Title
Merce Cunningham

Artist(s)
Annie Leibovitz

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1994

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
25 in x 21 in (63.5 cm x 53.34 cm);13 5/8 in x 13 5/8 in (34.61 cm x 34.61 cm);19 3/4 in x 15 15/16 in (50.17 cm x 40.48 cm);25 in x 21 in (63.5 cm x 53.34 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Gay Delanghe

Label copy
Recent Acquisitions: Curators Choice Part I, November 12, 2011-March 18, 2012
Annie Leibovitz
United States, born 1949
Merce Cunningham
1994
Gelatin silver print
Gift of Gay Delanghe, 2009/1.489

Subject matter
This subject of this photograph by Annie Leibovitz, a famous portrait photographer of celebrities, is Merce Cunningham (1919-2009). He was an American dancer and choreographer who uniquely collaborated with artists of other disciplines,such as musicians, painters, designers and architects, and had a profound influence on modern dance. His choreographic innovations included the abandonment of musical forms, narrative, and other conventional elements of dance composition and he stated that he felt the subject of his dances was always the dance itself.

Physical Description
Square black and white photograph showing head, neck and shoulders of a man posed against a blank wall. He is an older man with white curly hair. He is facing toward the viewer, but his eyes gaze to the left as if he is looking at something beyond. His hands rest on either side of his face and his expression is contemplative.

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Primary Object Type
black and white print

Additional Object Classification(s)
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
black-and-white photographs
man
portraits