Discussion Questions - Martha Graham
from Creating Minds
Howard Gardner
Ch. 8
Cultural Studies AA 610
Feb. 3, 2002
1. The opening sentences of this chapter are, "Dance lays fair claim to being the original art form, the one most likely to have been practiced by the first human beings." In my music history class, Dr. Martin said music was the first art form and hypothesized that prehistoric man used music rather than speech to communicate. In his presentation on the ancient world, Larry Gorrell cited Gilgamesh and speculated that literature was the first art form.
Picture the first people. What art forms do envision them doing as the first art form? Does it matter which one came first? Do you think the arts were are segregated into disciplines are they are today?
2. On page 289 Gardner writes, "Whenever Graham took a new creative direction, some of her followers were unable to make the transition with her." This reminds me of Bob Dylan and his transitions from folk music to rock and then to country. Every time he changed styles, he lost fans from the old genre. If people fall in love with an artist because of the new and imaginative things they do, why do you think the people are surprised when the artist "takes a new creative direction"? What about artists today? Billy Joel took a break from world of rock-n-roll to compose in the classical style. Chris O'Rielly, a classical pianist, plays RadioHead tunes on his recitals. Sebatian Bach, the lead singer of Skid Row, currently plays the lead part in an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical! The crossover seems to have given these artists more fans, without alienating old ones. Do you think postmodern people more tolerant of creative change than modern ones? Does a generation raised on the fast paced images of MTV and video games need frequent creative changes to prevent boredom? Can you think of any artists today who have been abandoned because they set off in a new direction?
3. On page 273 Gardner explains, "By her own wishes, very few of Graham's early dances have been filmed, even few are avaliable for public viewing. (Graham was not alone in this policy. Many other dancers scorned the celluloid image that could be view and reviewed, preferring to be remembered by the impression of a single performance.)
Do you think this policy of not recording performances is justified? Is there an artistic reason for not taping, or is it just vanity and insecurity? Do you think Graham (and other dancers) would have made a different decision if video editing, splicing, camera angles and other technology were available to them?
4. Martha's father took her to her first dance recital and was a "a wild tempestuous, moody, dream- obsessed and quick to anger creature." Her mother is described as a "stern indomitable Godfearing Puritan pioneer," (268). One would assume her mother was the one who didn't approve of a career in dance, but Gardner says it wasn't until after the death of her father that she felt free to pursue a career in dance. What do you think the recently widowed Mrs. Graham said when Martha announced she was going to study at Denishawn? What about 10 years later when Martha began to really contribute to the dance world? Gardner never mentions if Martha's family ever approved of her dancing, what do you think?
