The central motif for this book is the work of Merce Cunningham and the theoretical and emotional response by writers, artists, dancers and musicians to the milestones in his creative development, from 1944 to 1999.

Born in Centralia, Washington in 1919, Merce Cunningham can be considered the founder of contemporary dance as “a moving image of life”. His innovations in the field of choreography and movement date back to the 1940s, when, after meeting John Cage, Cunningham proposed separating music from dance, then turned to a chance method involving a random montage of movements. His language harmonizes and meshes with the art of Rauschenberg, Johns, Warhol, Stella, Lichtenstein and Nauman. From the 1970s to the present, he has used film, video and computers, which continue to offer him new experimental possibilities.