9 Evenings: Theatre And Engineering. Performances Of Dance, Music, Film, Television, Technology By Cage, Childs, Fahlstrom, Hay, Hay, Paxton, Rainer, Rauschenberg, Tudor, Whitman. Executive Coordination, Kluver. (E.A.T.). "Experiments In Art And Technology. Robert Rauschenberg & Billy Kluver (Et Al.)

Original fully signed poster for one of the landmark exhibitions of the 1960Õs. 9 Evenings was a series of performances from October 13Ð23, 1966, where artists and engineers from Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey collaborated on what was to be the first event in a series of projects that would become known as E.A.T. or Experiments in Art and Technology. 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering was conceived by Robert Rauschenberg and Billy KlŸver and was originally intended to be presented as part of the Stockholm Festival of Art and Technology in 1966. But when the festival's negotiations fell through, Billy KlŸver moved the event to the 69th Regiment Armory in New York. The participants consisted of 10 artists and some 30 engineers, creating a blend of avant-garde theatre, dance and new technologies. 9 Evenings was the first large-scale collaboration between artists and engineers and scientists. The two groups worked together for ten months to develop technical equipment and systems that were used as an integral part of the artistsÕ performances. Their collaboration produced many firsts in the use of new technology for the theatre, both with specially-designed systems and equipment and with innovative use of existing equipment. Closed-circuit television and television projection was used on stage for the first time; a fiber-optics camera picked up objects in a performer's pocket; an infrared television camera captured action in total darkness; a Doppler sonar device translated movement into sound; and portable wireless FM transmitters and amplifiers transmitted speech and body sounds to Armory loudspeakers. The poster for 9 Evenings, designed by Rauschenberg, was originally available at Dwan Gallery, Galleria Bonnino and Castelli Gallery. This is one of the special copies with the 40 signatures of all the participants, artist and engineers. Each of them have signed beneath their small photographic portrait, apart from John Cage and David Tudor, who have signed along the sides of their portraits. Artists involved with 9 Evenings included John Cage, Lucinda Childs, yvind Fahlstršm, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rauschenberg, David Tudor, and Robert Whitman. (MoMA has the limitation of the signed poster as 50 copies, whilst the Rauschenberg Foundation has the edition size as 90 copies; this copy marked ÔH.C.Õ). Offset lithographic poster. Mild surface abrasions. Backed onto foamed board.