The first anthology of the multivocal, narrational, performative
writings of the intermedia pioneer, who has quietly influenced
generations of New York artists and writers from Kathy Acker to Ellie
Ga
A leading figure of the 1970s and '80s downtown New York performance
scene, Constance DeJong has channeled time and language as her mediums
for the last four decades. The artist's experimental prose, multimedia
spoken text works, recitational performance, and digital and media art
projects expand the possibilities of narrative form, literary genre and
technological interactivity.
This reader is the first anthology to collect DeJong's writing to date.
Including out-of-print experimental short fiction such as the 2013
publication and performance SpeakChamber, the book also features
numerous scripts for performances such as Relatives, a duet between a
television and a performer made in collaboration with artist Tony
Oursler. Spanning text for disembodied voices emanating from
reengineered radios, sound pieces, video works and public art
commissions, this anthology gathers DeJong's contributions to language
and media art in all their forms.
Constance DeJong (born 1945) is a New York-based artist who has
exhibited and performed nationally and internationally. Her work has
been presented at the Renaissance Society, Chicago; the Walker Art
Center, Minneapolis; the Wexner Center, Columbus; the Philadelphia
Museum of Art; and in New York at The Kitchen, Thread Waxing Space, the
Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Dia Center for the Arts. In 1983
she composed the libretto for the Philip Glass opera Satyagraha, which
has been staged at opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan
Opera, New York; the Netherlands National Opera, Rotterdam; and the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York. She has permanent audio-text
installations in Beacon, New York; London; and Seattle. DeJong has
published several books of fiction, including her celebrated Modern
Love (Standard Editions, 1977; reissued by Primary Information/Ugly
Duckling Presse, 2017), I.T.I.L.O.E. (Top Stories, 1983) and
Speakchamber (Bureau, 2013), and her work is included in the
anthologies Up Is Up, But So Is Down: New York's Downtown Literary
Scene, 1974-1991 (NYU Press, 2006); Blasted Allegories (New
Museum/MIT, 1987) and Wild History (Tanam Press, 1985).