Constance de Jong
Encyclopedia
Constance DeJong is an American
artist
writer
and playwright
. She is probably best known as the writer on the libretto
of Philip Glass
's opera
Satyagraha
. She is also well known for her numerous collaborations with Tony Oursler
on projects such as Fantastic Prayers. DeJong has exhibited internationally with projects produced by organizations such as the Dia Foundation for the Arts and Minetta Brook. She is currently a professor of art and time based media at Hunter College
.
Most recently, in April, 2008, Satyagraha was put into a new production at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2006 she wrote the text for SuperVision, a collaboration with The Builder's Association which premiered at the Walker Art Center
in Minneapolis and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
(BAM) in New York
.
DeJong's writing is closely tied to performative practice. Her first book, Modern Love, was published in 1977 by Standard Editions. In 1978, this text was adapted into a 60 minute radio program accompanied by the "Modern Love Waltz" a piano composition by Philip Glass
. A subsequent work published in 1978, The Lucy Amarillo Stories, was a collection of poetry also read aloud by the artist in a 1977 performance at The Kitchen
.
The Lucy Amarillo Stories. Standard Editions, 1978 (ISBN 0918746035).
Satyagraha, M.K. Gandhi in South Africa, 1893-1914. Tanam Press, 1983 (ISBN 0934378436).
I.T.I.L.O.E. Top Stories, 1983.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. She is probably best known as the writer on the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Satyagraha
Satyagraha (opera)
Satyagraha is a 1979 opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by Glass and Constance DeJong.Loosely based on the life of Mohandas K...
. She is also well known for her numerous collaborations with Tony Oursler
Tony Oursler
Tony Oursler is a multimedia and installation artist.- Tapes, Installations: 1977-1989:Tony Oursler is known for his fractured-narrative handmade video tapes including The Loner, 1980 and EVOL 1984. These works involve elaborate sound tracks, painted sets, stop-action animation and optical special...
on projects such as Fantastic Prayers. DeJong has exhibited internationally with projects produced by organizations such as the Dia Foundation for the Arts and Minetta Brook. She is currently a professor of art and time based media at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
.
Most recently, in April, 2008, Satyagraha was put into a new production at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2006 she wrote the text for SuperVision, a collaboration with The Builder's Association which premiered at the Walker Art Center
Walker Art Center
The Walker Art Center is a contemporary art center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is considered one of the nation's "big five" museums for modern art along with the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and the Hirshhorn...
in Minneapolis and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
(BAM) in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
DeJong's writing is closely tied to performative practice. Her first book, Modern Love, was published in 1977 by Standard Editions. In 1978, this text was adapted into a 60 minute radio program accompanied by the "Modern Love Waltz" a piano composition by Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
. A subsequent work published in 1978, The Lucy Amarillo Stories, was a collection of poetry also read aloud by the artist in a 1977 performance at The Kitchen
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
.
Selected writings
Modern Love. Standard Editions, 1977 (N7433.4.D44 1977).The Lucy Amarillo Stories. Standard Editions, 1978 (ISBN 0918746035).
Satyagraha, M.K. Gandhi in South Africa, 1893-1914. Tanam Press, 1983 (ISBN 0934378436).
I.T.I.L.O.E. Top Stories, 1983.
External links
- http://www.diacenter.org/rooftop/webproj/fprayer/bios/cdj.html Dia Center biography
- http://www.fondation-langlois.org/html/e/page.php?NumPage=308 Langlois Foundation bio
- http://www.tonyoursler.com/tonyourslerv2/words/interviewsTO/constancedejong.htm Tony Oursler / Constance DeJong interview.
- http://books.google.com/books?id=DzmwAAAAIAAJ&q=moden+love+constance+de+jong&dq=moden+love+constance+de+jong&pgis=1 Moden Love on Google Books
- http://www.eai.org/eai/titleOrderingFees.htm?id=9144 Lucy Amarillo Stories documentation from The Kitchen archive at EAI.