Since 1972, Japanese-born dancers, Eiko&Koma have created a unique and riveting theatre of movement out of stillness, light and sound. Primal, intense, and powerfully moving, their pieces explore elemental themes such as birth, death, desire, struggle ,and profound connection between human and nature. Eiko&Koma studied with Kazuo Ohno in Japan, Manja Chmiel in Germany and Lucas Hoving in the Netherlands before moving to United states in 1976. Yet they do not consider themselves as dancers in any traditional sense. rather, they think of themselves as artists whose medium is movement and whose work resides in the space between dance, theatre, performance art, and sculpture. This is why throughout their careers they have presented their works outside conventional dance venues. Exactly a year ago I saw their installation The Caravan Project performed in a specially modified trailer in the garden lobby of MoMA. Now I'm reading their first comprehensive monograph published by Walker Art Center, which has been enjoying a long history with artists. The book is an extensive research into the ephemera of the artists’ forty-year career and include program notes, flyers, performative and editorial photography, video, reviews, and letters. Below a selection of few spreads from Eiko&Koma: Time Is Not Even, Space Is Not Empty.
