Chantal Pontbriand on Yvonne Rainer

Rainer, who is foremost acknowledged as an important contributor to the history of contemporary dance is also remarkable due to her later involvement with cinema, which can be seen as a second period in the evolution of her work. Rainer’s work examines the balance between political issues and quotidian personal life, incorporating the effects of interpersonal relationships and those established in professional situations. Her work deals with “connectiveness” in the era of radical change through the 1960’s and 70’s, when important political debates and challenges were emerging in the United States and beyond. After exploring innovative and even revolutionary ideas in bodily movement, she further explored her concerns – political and aesthetic ideas as well as gender issues – in the field of the moving image. Although a shift from performing arts to film might seem common today, Pontbriand highlights why this was considered to be a daring transition at the time. She focuses on the years 1967 to 1972, including seminal encounters Rainer had with Michael Snow, Hollis Frampton, Robert Morris, Robert Rauschenberg, and Babettte Mangolte, to name a few. These years lead her from writing her famous manifesto text The Mind is a Muscle, to creating her first feature-length film, Lives of Performers.