Art, Margaret Morris

above; Margaret Morris by John Duncan Fergusson.

Today I went to the John Duncan Fergusson  gallery in Perth. His paintings are wonderful, and I will do a whole post on him but; he also had a lesser known but extraordinary life partner called Margaret Morris
She was a fellow painter but also a dancer. As a child she took classical ballet lessons but by the age of about 12 had decided she wanted to create her own more ‘freer, more natural’ method movement.
She went on to develop her own technique of dance which embraced the recreational, therapeutic, athletic and creative elements of dance . This amalgamation of art and dance became known as ‘Margaret Morris Movement’ (MMM). This  evolved into the core training for her performing arts students when, in 1910,  she opened her first school. She went on to head performance dance companies from the 1920's through to the 1960’s.
She was one of these multi talented ladies who could also draw, paint and design. Her natural interest in form, line and colour had left its mark on not only her paintings, but those of her husband as well.
Much more information here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Morris_%28dancer%29
A Margaret Morris Quote
I first realised the absolute necessity of relating movement with form and colour when studying painting of the modern movement in Paris in 1913. From that time I incorporated it as one of the main studies in my school. In this connection I am deeply indebted to J D Ferguson, the painter, who for years has taught the painting design and sculpture in my school and who first made me realise the possibilities of theatrical work considered from the visual point of view, and the value of the study of form and colour as a means of education.
Margaret Morris 1925

delete reply catherinearmant wrote on Feb 8 Sagittarius all the way, which cannot be a bad thing.

delete reply rabbitfriendhere wrote on Jan 15 MMM makes you want to get up and move! :-)

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on Jan 15 pestep55 said Reminded me of Duncan in dance ways, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan and I read why /:-) yes she was a great admirer of Isadora Duncan.

delete reply aaranaardvark wrote on Jan 15, edited on Jan 15 Thanks for that Loretta, a very interesting post about something and somebody I never previously knew about. I loved the videos especially the first one which had me thinking of art nouveau, art deco, Nazi Germany, modernism and the romantics, Tai Chi and all manner of thoughts and associations attached themselves to the images. I also liked the second video that put it all into a contemporary context. Good stuff Loretta, I might take it up myself.

delete reply pestep55 wrote on Jan 15, edited on Jan 15 Reminded me of Duncan in dance ways, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan and I read why /:-)

delete reply kathyinozarks wrote on Jan 15, edited on Jan 15 thank you I enjoyed learning about her

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Jan 15 very interesting thanks for the introduction :)