Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Excerpt from 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, A Series of 10 Documentary Films
Directed by Barbro Schultz Lundestam
Produced by Billy Klüver and Julie Martin
Original footage by Alfons Schilling
ca. 1995–2007
In 1966, Swedish electrical engineer Billy Klüver and American visual artist Robert Rauschenberg gathered 10 avant-garde artists and 30 Bell Labs engineers to participate in a collaborative, multidisciplinary project combining new technologies with theatre, dance, and music. The event, 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, took place at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York from October 13–22, 1966. More than 10,000 people attended the performances. The event led to the founding of the organization Experiments in Art and Technology the following month.
Alex Hay, Grass Field, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 13 and 22, 1966
Performance Engineer: Herb Schneider
Artist Alex Hay described Grass Field as “A work built around three elements… 1. Internal sound potentials of the body; 2. External body color; 3. A singular work activity.” To explore the first element, he made it possible to hear otherwise inaudible physiological movements by wearing electrodes that detected his brain waves, eye movement, and lung movement and transmitted the resulting currents to modified amplifiers housed in a backpack he wore. He emphasized the colors of the performers’ bodies by using props and costumes that matched their skin tones. For the “singular work activity,” Hay placed 64 six-foot, numbered cloth squares across the stage. He then sat motionless in the middle of them while Steve Paxton and Robert Rauschenberg retrieved the squares of cloth using long poles.
This clip is part of the Getty Research Institute exhibition Sensing the Future: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), on view at the Getty Center from September 10, 2024 through February 23, 2025. Learn more at getty.edu/sensing_the_future
The complete footage of 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, A Series of 10 Documentary Films is available for researchers at the Getty Research Institute (accession number 2023.M.37):
http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21123876310001551
***
The Getty Research Institute is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts and their various histories through its expertise, active collecting program, public programs, institutional collaborations, exhibitions, publications, digital services, and residential scholars programs. Its library and special collections of rare materials and digital resources serve an international community of scholars and the interested public. The Research Institute's activities and scholarly resources guide and sustain each other and together provide a unique environment for research, critical inquiry, and scholarly exchange.
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
Getty is a world-renowned cultural and philanthropic organization that shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage. Collectively and individually, our programs pursue our mission in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Our engagement in culture, arts, and philanthropy is achieved through our constituent programs: the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust.
Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Villa Museum: https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
Excerpt from 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, A Series of 10 Documentary Films
Directed by Barbro Schultz Lundestam
Produced by Billy Klüver and Julie Martin
Original footage by Alfons Schilling
ca. 1995–2007
In 1966, Swedish electrical engineer Billy Klüver and American visual artist Robert Rauschenberg gathered 10 avant-garde artists and 30 Bell Labs engineers to participate in a collaborative, multidisciplinary project combining new technologies with theatre, dance, and music. The event, 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, took place at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York from October 13–22, 1966. More than 10,000 people attended the performances. The event led to the founding of the organization Experiments in Art and Technology the following month.
Alex Hay, Grass Field, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 13 and 22, 1966
Performance Engineer: Herb Schneider
Artist Alex Hay described Grass Field as “A work built around three elements… 1. Internal sound potentials of the body; 2. External body color; 3. A singular work activity.” To explore the first element, he made it possible to hear otherwise inaudible physiological movements by wearing electrodes that detected his brain waves, eye movement, and lung movement and transmitted the resulting currents to modified amplifiers housed in a backpack he wore. He emphasized the colors of the performers’ bodies by using props and costumes that matched their skin tones. For the “singular work activity,” Hay placed 64 six-foot, numbered cloth squares across the stage. He then sat motionless in the middle of them while Steve Paxton and Robert Rauschenberg retrieved the squares of cloth using long poles.
This clip is part of the Getty Research Institute exhibition Sensing the Future: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), on view at the Getty Center from September 10, 2024 through February 23, 2025. Learn more at getty.edu/sensing_the_future
The complete footage of 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, A Series of 10 Documentary Films is available for researchers at the Getty Research Institute (accession number 2023.M.37):
http://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21123876310001551
***
The Getty Research Institute is dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts and their various histories through its expertise, active collecting program, public programs, institutional collaborations, exhibitions, publications, digital services, and residential scholars programs. Its library and special collections of rare materials and digital resources serve an international community of scholars and the interested public. The Research Institute's activities and scholarly resources guide and sustain each other and together provide a unique environment for research, critical inquiry, and scholarly exchange.
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
Getty is a world-renowned cultural and philanthropic organization that shares and advances the world’s visual art and cultural heritage. Collectively and individually, our programs pursue our mission in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Our engagement in culture, arts, and philanthropy is achieved through our constituent programs: the Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Foundation, Getty Museum, Getty Research Institute, and Getty Trust.
Getty: https://www.getty.edu/
Getty Conservation Institute: https://www.getty.edu/conservation/
Getty Foundation: https://www.getty.edu/foundation/
Getty Museum: https://www.getty.edu/museum/
Getty Villa Museum: https://www.getty.edu/visit/villa/
Getty Research Institute: https://www.getty.edu/research/
