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Blondell Cummings

A resource of selected archives, bibliographies, and pedagogical tools relating to the work of choreographer and video artist Blondell Cummings (1944-2015).

Access

The Library is open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5pm. Contact us with questions or to make an appointment in the Special Collections Reading Room by calling (310) 440-7390 or emailing reference@getty.edu.

 

Notable GRI Collections

Blondell Cummings’ work and life connects to other holdings in the GRI collections, including The Kitchen, High Performance, Yvonne Rainer, and Long Beach Museum of Art archives. Many performances by Blondell Cummings can be found in the Kitchen Archive. Documentation includes video recordings, correspondence, and performance programs. Her appearance in Yvonne Rainer’s film Kristina Talking Pictures (1976) can be found in Rainer’s archives, and her collaboration with filmmaker and video artist Shirley Clarke can be found in the Long Beach Museum of Art. A key interview with Cummings can be found in High Performance. These archives reflect a significant group of Research Institute collections documenting contemporary video, dance, and performance from the 1970s and 80s. Her work introduces a focus on African American artists making works across these media during this time period, and reflects understudied collaborations and points of connection across the archives. The GRI’s archival holdings also support postwar performance and multidisciplinary histories more broadly.