Constance DeJong (born 1945, in

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) is an American artist, writer, and performer. DeJong produces fiction texts and new media-based work for performance and theater, audio, and video installations. She has permanent audio installations in Beacon, NY, London, and Seattle. She is also known as the writer of the libretto of Philip Glass's opera '' Satyagraha'', as well as her numerous collaborations with

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on projects such as ''Fantastic Prayers''. DeJong has exhibited internationally with projects produced by organizations such as the

Dia Art Foundation Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Menil and an heiress to the Schlumb ...

and Minetta Brook. She was a professor of art and time-based media at Hunter College.

Notable works

DeJong's writing is closely tied to performative practice. Her first book, ''Modern Love'', was published in 1977 by Standard Editions, a short-lived imprint co-founded by DeJong and

Dorothea Tanning Dorothea Margaret Tanning (25 August 1910 – 31 January 2012) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, writer, and poet. Her early work was influenced by Surrealism. Biography Dorothea Tanning was born and raised in Galesburg, Illin ...

. In 1978, this text was adapted into a 60-minute radio program accompanied by ''Modern Love Waltz'', a piano composition by Philip Glass. A new facsimile edition was published in 2017 by

Primary Information Primary Information is a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization that publishes artist books, artists’ writings, re-publishes out-of-print art publications and limited art editions. History Formed in 2006, Primary Information was created to fost ...

and

Ugly Duckling Presse Ugly Duckling Presse is an American nonprofit art and publishing collective based in Brooklyn, New York City founded in 1993 by Matvei Yankelevich as a college zine. It publishes poetry, translations, lost works, and artist's books. A micro pr ...

. A subsequent work published in 1978, ''The Lucy Amarillo Stories'', is a collection of poetry also read aloud by the artist in a 1977 performance at

The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was foun ...

. Glass wrote a duet for flute and harmonica, titled ''Lucy's Music'', for the Kitchen performances. The music was performed by Richard Landry and Ken Deifik. ''Satyagraha'' was put into a new production at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

in New York in April, 2008. In 2006 she wrote the text for ''SuperVision'', a collaboration with The Builder's Association which premiered at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in the United States and, to ...

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and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in

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. In 2017, DeJong worked with

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to produce ''NightWriters'', a performance and digital artist's book.

Selected writings

* ''I.T.I.L.O.E.'' Top Stories, 1983. * ''Satyagraha, M.K. Gandhi in South Africa, 1893–1914''. Tanam, 1983 (). * ''The Lucy Amarillo Stories''. Standard, 1978 (). * ''Modern Love''. Standard, 1977 (N7433.4.D44 1977). * ''SpeakChamber''. Bureau, 2013 (limited edition). * ''Modern Love.'' Primary Information/Ugly Duckling, 2017 (). * ''NightWriters.'' Triple Canopy, 2017 (digital publication). * ''Reader'' Primary Information, 2022 (ISBN 9781736534694)https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/60605/

References

External links

Langlois Foundation biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeJong, Constance 1950 births Living people Hunter College faculty 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American writers Writers from Cleveland