Laurie Anderson and Bud Shark collaborated to make a series of lithographs at the Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado in 1982. Working with a photograph of Mt. Daly and litho plates hand drawn by the artist, they made many color versions of Anderson’s composition.
Using the inherent possibilities of printmaking to change colors, Mt. Daly became blue, green or red with blue, yellow or pink snow fields. After spending late hours in the studio, Anderson settled on the version of the print published by Shark’s. She decided to use the large group of proofs accumulated from the proofing process as props for her performance, “US I-IV”. After taking slides of the variations, Anderson used several projectors to blend one color variant into another on a massive screen at the back of the stage. “US I-IV”, a landmark stage show delving into the American consciousness, was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1983.
The lithograph, Mt. Daly/US IV, was used as the cover art on her album and CD, “Mister Heartbreak”.
Laurie Anderson continues to perform and has succeeded brilliantly as a songwriter and performance artist. Her many recordings include “Mister Heartbreak”, “Bright Red”, “Strange Angels” and “Big Science”.
