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The Only Sequel Better than the Original
Meredith Monk’s Education of the Girlchild Revisited
The greatest thing about art is that how beautiful or inspiring it is lies in the eyes of the viewer. Everyone has different opinions about what makes art art. Meredith Monk may not be a name frequently thrown around with Pablo Picasso, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Annie Leibovitz. However, Monk’s work is worth a second look and listen. Meredith Monk, a woman of the arts, continues to inspire many this summer. The exhibit Education of the Girlchild Revisited material—music, images, and movement—composed during the “Girlchild” era (between 1969 and 1973).
Education of the Girlchild is a revolutionary opera that first became known in 1973. It took first place in Music Theater at the 1975 Venice Biennale and was one of Monk’s earliest works leading to her earth-shattering career. With that success, Monk has become a model influence for the younger generations of aspiring theater directors and composers. The Education of the Girlchild Revisited exhibit features Monk’s solo from the original opera. Throughout the opera, Monk explores an age reversal throughout life, much like Brad Pitt’s transformation in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Monk begins as a decrepit, hunched-over old woman and blossoms into a delightful young girl learning the lessons of life, death, youth, and age throughout the music and the movement in the performance.
Monk’s work is grounded in her ability to understand the depth of one’s voice and the expressive abilities it has. Similar to the eccentricity of the name the 3-Legged Dog (the venue where the exhibit is being displayed) Monk’s music is eclectic in its own way: it’s wordless. In her music and much more, Monk makes her mark; simply put, she’s unique. Monk’s career as a composer, singer, filmmaker, choreographer, and creator of new opera and music theatre works has spanned for five decades. Irony at it’s best: her wordless tunes unleash emotions that just cannot be expressed in words.
Monk is a pioneer in what is now called the “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance” areas. Monk combines the two things—music and movement—that have the ability to really get our juice flowing and creates masterpieces full of complex thoughts and divine intricacies. Her talent is so powerful, it almost seems as if it’s magic; she has been referred to as a “magician of the voice” on numerous occasions. Her music has been performed by several artists and featured in various movies including The Big Lebowski.
In the heart of the Big Apple, one can find many things, and yet the Meredith Monk exhibit will continue to stand out. New York City is full of flavor and pizzazz, but it will surely meet its creative match with the “Education of the Girlchild Revisited” performance. Everyone with an interest in music and theater will enjoy the production, oh and if only Picasso and Beethoven could see, oh how pleased they would be.
More event info here.