Description
Joan Jonas Stage Sets, curated by Michael A. Quigley, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, December 3, 1976–January 5, 1977
This exhibition, Jonas’s first solo show, was a five-part program comprising “an environment” entitled Stage Sets (1976), and four related events: a performance of Mirage (1976); the premiere performance of The Juniper Tree (1976), commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art, located in Philadelphia, for an audience of children; a screening of Jonas’s films; and continuous daily screenings of a program of Jonas’s videos. Suzanne Delehanty, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, extended the initial invitation to Jonas to create an exhibition in the space.
—KP
Bibliographic References
Joan Jonas Stage Sets. Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Exhibition brochure.
Poster with photograph by Gwenn Thomas, exhibition description, and event information for Joan Jonas Stage Sets, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Source: Joan Jonas Studio. Courtesy: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
“Stage Sets.” In In the Shadow a Shadow: The Work of Joan Jonas, edited by Joan Simon and Joan Jonas, 254–55. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2015.
Exhibition Materials
- Joan Jonas Stage Sets. Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Exhibition brochure.
Promotional Materials
- Poster with photograph by Gwenn Thomas, exhibition description, and event information for Joan Jonas Stage Sets, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Source: Joan Jonas Studio. Courtesy of the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
Exhibition Team
Curator: Michael A. Quigley
Curatorial Assistant: Carla B Hultman
Environment Construction: John Taylor, Bill Baumann, Randall Dalton, and Karen Krause
Stage Manager: Tim Burns
Performers: Mary Klaus, John Erdman, Sheila McLaughlin, Linda Zadikian, and Susan Howe
Prop and Costume Assistants: Gayle Samules and Vanessa Istrati
Related Events
- Joan Jonas, Mirage (1976), December 3, 1976
- Films by Joan Jonas: Wind (1968); Paul Revere (with Richard Serra) (1971); Veil (1971); Songdelay (1973), December 7, 1976
- Joan Jonas, The Juniper Tree (1976), December 11, 1976 (premiere performance)
- Videotapes by Joan Jonas, on continuous daily view
- For additional details on these four events, see Poster with photograph by Gwenn Thomas, exhibition description, and event information for Joan Jonas Stage Sets, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Source: Joan Jonas Studio. Courtesy of the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
Interviews
- Joan Jonas on Joan Jonas: Works 1968–1994, September 2019
- Joan Jonas on Mirage Performances, April 2019
- Joan Jonas on Mirage Installations, April 2019
- Interview with Joan Simon (independent curator and writer based in Paris), January 2021
- Interview with Gwenn Thomas (New York-based artist), June 2019
- Interview with Catherine Wood (senior curator for International Art and Performance at Tate Modern, London), April 2020
Bibliography
Donohoe, Victoria. “Space, Time Interwoven in Stage Sets.” Philadelphia Inquirer, December 12, 1976, 17–I.
Jarmusch, Ann. “Suspended in Shadow.” Artnews 76, no. 4 (April 1977): 89.
Joan Jonas Stage Sets. Philadelphia: Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 1976. Exhibition brochure.
Silverthorne, Jeanne. “Performance as Metamorphosis: The Art of Joan Jonas.” Philadelphia Arts Exchange (PAE) 1, no. 2 (March/April 1977): 11–14.
“Stage Sets.” In In the Shadow a Shadow: The Work of Joan Jonas, edited by Joan Simon and Joan Jonas, 254–55. New York: Gregory R. Miller & Co., 2015.