After its successful world premiere, presented by Hartwig Art Foundation and Holland Festival in 2023, Indra's Net makes its North American debut at the Park Avenue Armory.
In the ancient Buddhist/Hindu legend of Indra’s Net, an enlightened king, Indra, stretches a vast net across the universe, with an infinitely faceted jewel placed at each intersection. Each jewel is unique yet reflects all the others, illuminating the interdependence of all living things. Inspired by this tale, Indra's Net is an immersive installation performance that illustrates life's interconnectedness.
Together with members of her extraordinary Vocal Ensemble, Monk offers an interplay of music, movement, and architecture, embodying celestial, earthly, and human realms through sound, video, and performance.
First monograph: Meredith Monk. Calling
After Indra's Net and Meredith Monk’s dual European retrospectives, Hartwig Art Foundation partnered with Haus der Kunst to create Monk's first monograph.
Meredith Monk. Calling encompasses Monk’s career in all its facets: from voice artist to composer, choreographer to filmmaker, and more. The publication includes previously unseen archival material, musical notations, drawings, and photographs, along with an in-depth conversation with the artist. Essays by Hilton Als, Joan Jonas and Bruce Nauman, among others, emphasise Monk's lasting legacy and significance today.
Concept Meredith Monk; composition Meredith Monk; direction Meredith Monk; performers Paul An, Theo Bleckmann, Gideon Crevoshay, Allison Easter, Ellen Fisher, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk, Allison Sniffin, John Hollenbeck; orchestra Ensemble Academy; costume design Yoshio Yabara; scenic design Yoshio Yabara; lighting design Joe Levasseur; associate lighting design Dan Stearns; sound design Daniel Neumann; cinematography Ben Stechschulte; projection design Jorgé Morales; musical direction Allison Sniffin; score preparation Allison Sniffin; orchestration Allison Sniffin, Meredith Monk; stage manager Meredith Belis; production manager Kevin Kenkel; costume associate Meredith Belis; costume support Jamielyn Duggan; production The House Foundation for the Arts; co-commissioned by Mills College with support from Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions, Hartwig Art Foundation, Haus der Kunst
Edited by: Anna Schneider, Beatrix Ruf, Peter Sciscioli.
Contributors: John Luther Adams, Hilton Als, Carla Blank, Theo Bleckmann, Tom Bogdan, Manfred Eicher, Siri Engberg, Ellen Fisher, Andrea Goodman, Ann Hamilton, Jim Hodges, Pico Iyer, Joan Jonas, Alex Katz, John R. Killacky, Ralph Lemon,Andrea Lissoni, Bonnie Marranca, Bobby McFerrin, Rick Moody, Timothy Morton, Bruce Nauman, Shirin Neshat, Frank J. Oteri, Ishmael Reed, Teresa Retzer, Alex Ross, Beatrix Ruf, Anna Schneider, Peter Sciscioli, Yuval Sharon, Adam Shatz, Allison Sniffin, Louise Steinman, Jean-Louis Tallon, Anne Waldman, John Zorn.
Designed by Dan Solbach. Published by Hartwig Art Foundation and Haus der Kunst München at Hatje Cantz Verlag.
The first survey on the oeuvre of Meredith Monk was a collaboration in two acts at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, together with Hartwig Art Foundation (21 Oct. 2023 – 17 March 2024) and at Haus der Kunst München (10 Nov. 2023 — 3 March 2024). The Amsterdam exhibition was curated by Beatrix Ruf and developed in close collaboration with Meredith Monk and The House Foundation for the Arts.