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.
Öyvind Fahlström, Kisses Sweeter than Wine, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 21 and 22, 1966
Performance Engineer: Harold Hodges
For 9 Evenings, artist Öyvind Fahlström created a nine-part performance consisting of various sketches joined from end to end without narrative continuity. Using video, audio tape, and film and slide projectors, Fahlström drew a parallel between people able to perform several mathematical calculations simultaneously and the miraculous processing ability of a computer. The piece engaged with the culture and politics of its time and manipulated what Fahlström called “life materials”—actual events, persons, and cultural phenomena from contemporary life.
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.
Öyvind Fahlström, Kisses Sweeter than Wine, performed at 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering, October 21 and 22, 1966
Performance Engineer: Harold Hodges
For 9 Evenings, artist Öyvind Fahlström created a nine-part performance consisting of various sketches joined from end to end without narrative continuity. Using video, audio tape, and film and slide projectors, Fahlström drew a parallel between people able to perform several mathematical calculations simultaneously and the miraculous processing ability of a computer. The piece engaged with the culture and politics of its time and manipulated what Fahlström called “life materials”—actual events, persons, and cultural phenomena from contemporary life.
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/
