Monk in Pieces

Visionary composer, performer and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk overcame a childhood eye condition and a hostile critical establishment to become one of the great artistic pioneers of her generation, yet her profound cultural influence is largely unrecognized.

As a female artist in the male-dominated NY downtown arts scene of the 70s, Monk had to fight for recognition and resources. Early reviews in The New York Times were unappreciative, some vicious, yet, as her celebrated contemporary, Philip Glass, says in an interview, "she, among all of us, was - and still is - the uniquely gifted one." Vocalizing one day at the piano, Monk had a revelation about the infinite potential of the human voice. From that moment, she focused on developing the unique vocal vocabulary that has come to define her music.

In the midst of her latest creation, Indra's Net, Monk faces mortality, questioning whether such singular work can be performed without her. Featuring interviews with Björk and David Byrne, Monk in Pieces is a mosaic that mirrors Monk's own style, and illuminates her wildly original vocabulary of sound and imagery.

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