Charlotte Moorman

*1933 in Little Rock, Arkansas (USA); studied classical cello and was for several years a member of American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski; 1963 established the annual New York Avant Garde Festival which she ran until 1982; died in 1991.
Famously described by composer Edgar Varese as «the Jeanne d'Arc of new music,» Charlotte Moorman was a central figure of the New York avant garde of the 1960s and 1970s. Both as a performer of new music and an organizer of exhibitions, she became one of the iconic figures of the period. In 1964 she met and first collaborated with Nam June Paik and their partnership was to last until Moorman's death. Paik created some of his best-known pieces for her, including TV Bra for Living Sculpture (1969) and TV-Cello (1971), and she was featured in many of his classic performances and videotapes, including Global Groove (1973). In addition to her work with Paik, during her career Moorman collaborated with or performed works for Joseph Beuys, Jim McWilliams, Otto Piene, John Cage and Yoko Ono.