Takehisa Kosugi (1938 - 2018)

I received word from a friend in Japan about 15 hours ago that Kosugi has di=
ed.
Sad to hear this. I=E2=80=99ve always enjoyed his work.

A Kosugi story that has stayed with me:
Forty years ago, I was sitting in my apartment reading my weekly copy
of the Village Voice when I came across an ad in the back pages from
the Cunningham Dance Co. that was looking for a composer/performer
to join their organization. The pay and working/travel conditions and
just plain opportunity were better than anything I=E2=80=99d ever dreamed of=
,
but I really had another person in mind who=E2=80=99d be a better, more real=
istic,
candidate when it came to this job - after all, I was only 19 years old.

So, I rushed out of my house, newspaper in hand, and ran over to the
next block and excitedly rang the doorbell of my friend, composer Jerry Hunt=
.
He, of course, was going to pursue this opportunity and would suggest that,
if he were to receive the position, that I would be his assistant - but he a=
lso=20
encouraged me to pursue this as well - that I should emphasize the performan=
ces=20
I had already done - especially the Fluxus-based ones. I spent the evening c=
rafting=20
the best looking resume with the most pointed aspects of what I felt were my=

performance/composing strong-points and off it went in the mail to the=20
Cunningham group the next morning.

The sad news had arrived when Jerry called a day or two later.
The position had already been filled - even before the ad was placed -=20
because it was a necessary aspect of the application for a Green Card
for Kosugi. Merce had to show that he had placed an ad for a position
and that Kosugi had answered this ad. It was crushing to me and somewhat,=20=

cynically expected by Jerry.

Hello to everyone from Canada!
America has lost its mind and it=E2=80=99s
looking more and more tempting here.
Plus, I made the discovery back in June
that, apparently, I already have dual-citizenship.
A surprise that I wasn=E2=80=99t aware of after 60 years
on the planet.

best to all of you,

Rod







Sent from your iPad.
You should be more careful.=