Why should The Museum of Modern Art undertake a comprehensive retrospective of the works of a film choreographer? MoMA Chief Film Curator Rajendra Roy shares his well-articulated thesis behind the museum’s upcoming Jack Cole retrospective with writer Hilary Lewis of The Hollywood Reporter.
Explains Roy:
In late January … we’re honoring Jack Cole, who was one of the most influential choreographers on stage first and then in cinema, who’s influenced Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and brought to the screen really iconic scenes of cinema (Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, for example). As a choreographer, [he] maybe hasn’t been celebrated to the same extent as some of the directors he may have collaborated with have been, but the idea that any of those images would exist without his input and his direct artistic contribution is just false. So I think that would be an area of emphasis not just on choreography but cinematography as well. We’re really looking to expand what a critical investigation of a cinematic artist would involve or who those artists might actually be. So it’s not only writers, directors, it’s not only actors, it’s choreographers, cinematographers and a lot of other below-the-line talent that wouldn’t normally get the kind of recognition that they certainly have earned.
Read the story in The Hollywood Reporter..
All that Jack (Cole) | The Museum of Modern Art | Jan 20 – Feb 4, 2016