Venice:
Ca Corner della Regina – Fondazione Prada – Art or Sound exhibition. At the Fondazione Prada, the “Art or Sound”,
exhibition curated by Germano Celant, runs until November 3. Conceived as an
investigation of past and present times, “Art or Sound” explores the
relationship between art and sound and the way it has developed from the 16th
century to the present day, examining the iconic aspects of musical
instruments, the role of the artist-musician, and the areas in which the visual
arts and music have come together.
Art or
Sound. The exhibition sets out to investigate the relationship of symmetry and
ambivalence that exists between works of art and sound objects. The intention
is to offer a reinterpretation of the musical instrument that turns into a
sculptural-visual entity and of the artworks that produce sound, in a continual
encroachment and inversion of fields.
Above.
Pierre Jaquet-Droz – Henri Maillardet – Singing Bird Cage with Clock – circa
1785.
photograph
and copyright manfredi bellati
Art or
Sound. For the occasion of the opening
of the exhibition the concert of Nuovo Teatro Futurista with music by Franco
Casavola, Francesco Balilla Pratella and Luigi Russolo, conducted by Pietro
Verardo.
Art or
Sound. The title “Art or Sound” is not
intended as an expression of opposition, but rather as the encounter between
two independent
realms. It identifies an area of free transition that, over the last five
centuries, has allowed art to flow into sound and sound into art, while
maintaining their mutual independence. Therefore the visitor, observing and
listening to the works on display, is invited to identify the variety of ways through
which art and sound have embarked on the same journey or become intertwined.
Above.
Adolphe Sax – Six-Valve Trumpet – circa 1875.
Pablo
Castro and Paris Celant
Art or
Sound. Joe Jones – Bird Cage – 1964. A tribute to John Cage the American composer
who had a great influence on Jones.
Francesco
Bonami, Adele Re Rebaudengo and Christoph Radl
Art or
Sound. Christian Marclay – Cage – 1993. Cage is a telephone placed inside a
bird cage and thus impossible to answer.
A Tribute to John Cage and to Marcel Duchamp.
Art or
Sound. Nam June Paik – Urmusik – 1961. The creation of musical instruments
employing commonly used objects was a recurrent theme in Paik’s work.
Nina
Yashar and Nanette Latis
Art or
Sound. Salvador Dali – Metronome – 1944 + Man Ray – Indestructable Object –
1923 (1965). Dali’s link to Man Ray is clear in this artwork. The only
difference from Man Ray’s metronome is the eye, which is not photographed but
drawn in charcoal. Man Ray’s eye is
attached with a paper-clip to the swinging arm of the metronome. Ray said that he used the object so that he
could work to the rhythm of the ticking, and added the eye because a painter
needs and audience.
Art or
Sound. Marcel Duchamp – With Hidden Noise (A Bruit Secret) – 1916 (1963). The two brass plates are engraved on the top
and bottom with a mysterious inscription in English and French words on both
sides; in order to decipher it the readymade has to be turned over repeatedly.
Mario
Lupano and Maria Luisa Frisa
Art or
Sound. Robert Rauschenberg – Oracle – 1962-65.
Verde
Visconti and Francesco Longanesi Cattani
Maria
Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo
photograph and copyright by manfredi bellati
Art or
Sound. Arman – The Spirit of Yamaha – 1997. This is the first work in the
Sandwich Combos series, in which the object is not altered through smashing
followed by recomposition on a wall panel, but slicing and inserting within it
another object of completely different and contrasting nature.
Servane
and Giovanni Giol
Photograph Attilio Maranzano - Courtesy Fondazione Prada
Art or Sound. Bernard Baschet - François
Baschet - Cristal, 1952 (1980). Performer: Thomas Bloch.
Chiara
Costa, Astrid Welter and Alexandre Reichert
David
Eugin Moon and Nahyun Hwang
Photograph Attilio Maranzano - Courtesy Fondazione Prada
Art or Sound. Ken Butler -
Hybrid
Instruments - 1978-2002.
Performer: Ken Butler on his Double Reel –
1981. American artist Ken Butler’s
hybrid instruments are constructed from readily available consumer objects
designed to perform a different function and when amplified, are shaped with
cutting edge sound processing equipment that enables artful musical sound and
expression.
Art or Sound. Eliseo Mattiacci –
Echoes of Sounds and Dogs Barking (Echi di Suoni e Cani Che Abbaiano) –
1983. The piece comprises of eleven metal elements culminating in cymbals and a
recording of the striking of a gong, followed by dogs barking. It was created during the artist’s stay in
New York and inspired by “the rhythm of the background that, mixed with the barking
of dogs, is a constant noise in American cities.”
Luigi Ferrario, Maria Grazia Rosin, Sigrid de
Montrond and Roberto De Feo
photograph
and copyright manfredi bellati
Art or Sound
Cecilia Matteucci
Art or Sound. Anne Waak looks at Bernard Baschet – Francois Baschet –
Folding and inflatable Guitar – 1952.
The first instrument devised by the Baschet brothers, this folding and
inflatable guitar seems to have been the playful outcome of a practical
problem: how to travel with a guitar.
“When traveling, it is an excellent idea to get yourself invited
everywhere. The best way is to learn ten
songs and carry a guitar….”
Art or Sound. Edward J. Potokar – Silver Jubilee – 1999. Known as
“boxes” Potokar’s musical instruments are analog synthesizers based on an
evolving linage dating back to the late 1970s, with circuit boards either
handmade or hard-wired, usually out of found or surplus parts. The components, not generally designed for
audio, allow the instruments to produce unique sounds.
Alberto Baraghini Giulia Curra and Pas Leccese
Art or Sound. Maywa Denki – Guitar-La – 1994. Maywa Denki is an art unit that mimics a
company. The Masamichi brothers instead of pieces of art sell “products,” and
exhibitions or live performances are referred to “product demonstrations”. Guitar-La
consists of five guitars arranged to form a sensu, a traditional Japanese fan,
which can be controlled through a pedal organ with a built-in controller.
Emmanuel Babled
Art or Sound. Subodh Gupta – Jutha – 2005. Jutha is composed of three
wall-hanging stainless steel sinks containing aluminum utensils. Hidden speakers are located at the base of
the sinks and emit metallic sounds.
Luisa Mensi
Art or Sound. Maurizio Cattalan – Untitled (Senza Titolo) – 2003.
Untitled is a musical automaton inspired by Oskar Matzerath, the primary
character in Gunter Grass’s book The Tin Drum.
It looks like a seated young boy who, activated by a hidden electronic-radio
device, rhythmically strikes a drum.
When the automation is exhibited, it is placed in a precarious or
unusual position, such as on a ledge or the roof of an exhibition venue.
Alessandra Zoppi and Valentina Marangoni
Toni Meneguzzo
Art or Sound. Max Vandervorst –
Saxosoir – 1988. Belgian musician and composer since 1988 has presented
performances whose protagonists are musical instruments created using ordinary
objects not usually considered suitable for making sounds. The Saxsoir is formed by the combination of a
five-liter watering can and a tenor sax whose ebony mouthpiece is fitted into
the semi conical spout of a watering can perforated with seven holes.
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