Water Light/Water Needle by Schneemann, Carolee

Two sheets, mimeographed to rectos only, comprising the original playbill for Carolee Schneemann's kinetic theater piece, as performed at St. Mark's Church from March 17 through 20, 1966, the sheets with handwritten typographic corrections, and listing everyone who participated in or helped to put on the performance, together with a description of the performance and contextual background. Not illustrated. Old fold lines, some minor handling wear, overall very good. 4to. Loose as issued. New York (St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery) 1966. The staging of Water Light/Water Needle involved performers moving on layers of rigged ropes and pulleys. The program indicates that the audience "is surrounded by nesting materials; they should sit down or lie down and make themselves comfortable." Schneemann goes on to describe the background and context of the piece itself: "Water Light/Water Needle began as drawings and notes in Venice in 1964. Images persisted for over a year until it became a necessity to realize them in performance...Water Light/Water Needle is not an acrobatic piece; it is not conceived for special physical strength. It is a metaphoric, open journey in the very particular conditions which the ropes impose...Images developed in movement by visual necessity." She closes her introduction to the piece with these words: "Happenings for the most part has [sic] been the theater-of-painters; visual, non-verbal, non-musical in formation. They evade, blast, or crawl by traditional media towards greater extensity, dimensionality and natural presence." A rare document from an important event by the groundbreaking visual and performance artist. As of November 2019, this document is not listed on WorldCat.