Meredith Monk. Calling

To say that Meredith Monk is an outstanding singer, composer, choreographer and filmmaker says a lot and yet too little. Monk works seamlessly across disciplines—pushing the boundaries of music, theater, dance, video, and installation, and is considered a pioneer of site-specific performance. At the center of her oeuvre is the suggestive power of the human voice: the body becomes a resonating space for a universal language for which there are no words. Monk was the first artist to create a performance for the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum, she performed in public car parks and on opera stages. This catalogue presents the first career encompassing, in-depth analysis of her work. Featuring never-before-published archival material, musical notations, drawings, and photographs, as well as an insightful conversation with the artist, the essays underscore Monk’s lasting influence and affirm the relevance of her work for the present.

MEREDITH MONK (*1942, New York City) began to explore the spectrum of the human voice through abstract vocal expressions in the early 1960s. She developed what became known as “extended vocal technique” in numerous solo performances, using the three-octave range of her voice. In 1968 she founded The House to promote interdisciplinary performance and ten years later the Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble. Monk is an award-winning filmmaker and has received numerous honors such as the National Medal of Arts.