To say that Meredith Monk is an outstanding singer composer choreographer and filmmaker says
a lot and yet too little. Monk works seamlessly across disciplines-pushing the boundaries of
music theater dance video and installation and is considered a pioneer of site-specific
performance. At the center of her oeuvre is the suggestive power of the human voice: the body
becomes a resonating space for a universal language for which there are no words. Monk was the
first artist to create a performance for the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum she performed in
public car parks and on opera stages. This catalogue presents the first career encompassing
in-depth analysis of her work. Featuring never-before-published archival material musical
notations drawings and photographs as well as an insightful conversation with the artist
the essays underscore Monk's lasting influence and affirm the relevance of her work for the
present. MEREDITH MONK (*1942 New York City) began to explore the spectrum of the human voice
through abstract vocal expressions in the early 1960s. She developed what became known as
"extended vocal technique" in numerous solo performances using the three-octave range of her
voice. In 1968 she founded The House to promote interdisciplinary performance and ten years
later the Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble. Monk is an award-winning filmmaker and has received
numerous honors such as the National Medal of Arts.
