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SOM#097, Robert Cook, Music - Dance, 1978
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From the collection of John Birks
Numbers Issued: 750 Bronze, 150 Silver
FROM THE ARTIST
Modern American ballet and contemporary American music are, I believe, among the most exciting new art forms to have come forward in the twentieth century. Since they both have had a strong influence on my work, I chose to celebrate them with this medal. I have loved modern ballet since I began to work in bronze. There was the first great surge of invention that started with George Balanchine in the nineteen thirties; this gained strength and speed with the advent of Martha Graham in the forties and fifties. Now innovators like Merce Cunningham, Jerome Robbins and Paul Taylor are considered old masters, while still another generation of young Americans has arrived to add luster and variety to the international dance scene.
By the same token, American music has made itself felt as a distinct force in the world. In the classical field, but perhaps even more in the field of jazz, the American contribution has been unique and continues to surprise and stimulate music lovers everywhere. - Robert Cook, 1978
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mr. Robert Cook, originally from Boston has lived and worked in rome since 1948 when he went there to study as a Fulbright Student. His work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum, Pennsylvania Academy and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, plus in many fine private collections including Joseph Hirshorn, Stanley Marcus and Al Kapp. In 1976 Mr. Cook published a book "Family Album in Bronze." He is the subject of a documentary film, "The World of Robert Cook" by Beachtree Film Productions, Inc.
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