Friday, June 27, 2014

Venice: Ca Corner della Regina – Fondazione Prada – Art or Sound exhibition.



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 “boxesPotokar’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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