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.
Robert Rauschenberg, Open Score, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 14 and 23, 1966
Performance Engineer: Jim McGee
Open Score began with a tennis match between professional player Mimi Kanarek and painter Frank Stella. Engineer William Kaminski wired their rackets with transmitters that caused every strike of the ball to emit a loud sound and extinguish an overhead light. The game continued until the Armory was completely dark. At that point, a cast of 300 volunteers walked onto the court and performed a series of loosely choreographed movements while infrared cameras projected their images onto large screens. Rauschenberg described the action as “the conflict of not being able to see an event that is taking place right in front of one except through a reproduction,” an idea that resonates in today’s world of social media, streaming, and smartphones. For the second performance, Rauschenberg added a third section in which he carried dancer Simone Forti around the Armory in a burlap bag while she sang an Italian ballad.
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.
Robert Rauschenberg, Open Score, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 14 and 23, 1966
Performance Engineer: Jim McGee
Open Score began with a tennis match between professional player Mimi Kanarek and painter Frank Stella. Engineer William Kaminski wired their rackets with transmitters that caused every strike of the ball to emit a loud sound and extinguish an overhead light. The game continued until the Armory was completely dark. At that point, a cast of 300 volunteers walked onto the court and performed a series of loosely choreographed movements while infrared cameras projected their images onto large screens. Rauschenberg described the action as “the conflict of not being able to see an event that is taking place right in front of one except through a reproduction,” an idea that resonates in today’s world of social media, streaming, and smartphones. For the second performance, Rauschenberg added a third section in which he carried dancer Simone Forti around the Armory in a burlap bag while she sang an Italian ballad.
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/
