Just, wow. John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Louise Nevelson, and yet the sycophancy and superciliousness of this 1974 interview in SoHo by a couple of early Interview contributors is almost unwatchable. Almost. I just watched it again:
R. Couri Hay: My name is Couri Hay. Tonight Anton Perich and I are in SoHo, and we’re very privileged and happy to be at Louise Nevelson’s house where we’ve just had a fabulous extravaganza in black and white, a benefit. party for Merce Cunningham and his dance studio. We’re gonna hear–talk tonight with John Cage, who has done much of the fabulous avant-garde music for Merce’s work. And of course, in the middle, we have Louise Nevelson sculptress extraordinaire, and then, of course, Merce Cunningham, who I guess has been the star of the party.
Merce Cunningham: [laughing] Louise Nevelson has been the star of the party. Look at her! What more do you have to see?
Louise Nevelson: [talking over]
MC: What am I supposed to say, should I thank–
CH: No, no, just tell me: did you have a great time?
John Cage: [running interference] Everyone has been a star, we’ve had practically, what, 200 stars?
LN: We’ve had 200 stars, but some stars shine more than others.
And on it goes, for like 35 minutes. I listen to every Cage interview I can dig up, and I have never found one so content-free. I guess it’s good to be reminded of the social context in which even the people you revere had to work.
[via artforum/video]