Saturday, February 23, 2013

Conspiracy Music (Part 8)



In 1984 Laurie Anderson released her four-part magnum opus entitled United States that included a song/poem/performance piece, “Dance of Electricity,” all about the suppressed science of Nikola Tesla and his fierce battle with Thomas Edison that raged throughout the final decade of the nineteenth century.  

Since “Dance of Electricity” was performed in 1983, it’s possible that Anderson’s piece was inspired by Margaret Chaney’s comprehensive and highly readable biography TESLA:  MAN OUT OF TIME, the first edition of which was published in 1981.   

 


 http://ca.pbsstatic.com/l/70/0770/9780440390770.jpg

However, it should be noted that Anderson’s interest in Tesla can be traced even earlier to her 1978 performance piece entitled “Like a Stream,” which was inspired by a photograph of Tesla operating one of his infamous giant coils.  

http://www.ovaltech.ca/images/NikolaTesla.jpg

 Laurie Anderson's "Dance of Electricity" can be heard HERE.

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