Identity and the Neoclassical Ideal in Martha Graham and Carlos Chávez's Dark Meadow

Bibliographic Data

ID21728410
AuthorsChristina Taylor Gibson (0000-0003-3010-4532, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume18
Issue1
Pages95-124
Publication date2021-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
Venuetwentieth-century music (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-5722 • E-ISSN: 1478-5730
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1478572220000523
OpenAlexW3110941681
LanguageEN
References cited18

If the ideal artistic collaboration is one of shared vision, open communication, and exquisite professionalism then Martha Graham and Carlos Chávez strayed far from it in the making of Dark Meadow (1946). As this article documents, their relationship was full of antagonism, misunderstanding, disdainful gossip, and regret on both sides. Three sources of conflict are examined: 1) a misunderstanding between the two collaborators on the meaning and utility of Greek allusions in art created conflicting aesthetic expectations for a dance with a plot derived from Greek mythology; 2) both artists defied the modernist community's expectations about how each of them should perform their gender identity as artists; and 3) similarly, the press's consistent Othering of Chávez in racist, nationalist terms was contagious, influencing Graham's beliefs about what Mexican music could or should be. Despite significant obstacles, Chávez and Graham produced a work that continues to represent the mid-century Modernist aesthetic

Aesthetics · Art · Dance · Epistemology · Gossip · Literature · Mythology · Regret · Sociology · Music History and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology · Theater, Performance, and Music History

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