Music
September 22, 2013–March 9, 2014
Reception: Sunday, September 22
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street
Ridgefield, CT 06854
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday noon–5pm
T 203 438 4519
Music, the new series of solo exhibitions scheduled to open at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum on September 22 from 2 to 5 pm, investigates the complex, sustained, and profound relationship between music and the visual arts.
The exhibitions are Simon Blackmore: Three Sound Works; Martin Creed: Scales; Sol LeWitt: The Music Collection; James Mollison: The Disciples; and Xaviera Simmons: Underscore; they will remain on view through March 9, 2014.
At the present moment, the boundary between visual art and music has become more complex, as artists see music as inspiration, subject, and object to an ever greater extent. This series of exhibitions and public programs explores the intersection of these two worlds through new media, sculpture, installation, archives, photography, video, and performance.
Exhibitions
Simon Blackmore: Three Sound Works
Blackmore’s DIY approach to sculpture and installation draws on influences such as hobby-style electronics, open-source software, and lo-fi aesthetics. The works, which all reflect upon the relationship between translation and music, include Weather Guitar, a flamenco guitar that “plays” to changing weather conditions. This is the British artist’s first US solo exhibition. Curated by Richard Klein.
Martin Creed: Scales
Artist, performer, musician, composer: Martin Creed’s multifarious activities intertwine and collapse media, opening up endless possibilities for finding music in both the most obvious and least likely of places. This is the first Creed exhibition to focus on the influence, occurrence, and insinuation of music in both his artwork and practice. Curated by Kelly Taxter.
Sol LeWitt: The Music Collection
LeWitt’s collection of close to 4,000 cassette tapes, installed so as to replicate the music library at his home in Chester, CT, is accompanied by the handwritten logbook where he numerically organized the recordings, plus original scores from his collection, including compositions by John Cage, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, artists with whom he had personal relationships. Curated by Richard Klein.
James Mollison: The Disciples
Mollison photographs the fans of diverse popular musical acts in the United States and Europe. Approaching his subject matter like an anthropologist, he unites portraits from the same concert to capture the zeitgeist of the act’s aesthetic. This exhibition presents photographs of the “disciples” of Björk, The Casualties, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, P. Diddy, The Rolling Stones, and The Wailers. Curated by Richard Klein.
Xaviera Simmons: Underscore
Simmons’s work spans photography, performance, video, sound, and installation, all rooted in an ongoing investigation of experience, memory, landscape, and histories. Underscore will concentrate on her exploration of influence, endurance, and time, and will premiere Number 17, her most complex endurance-based performance to date. Two large-scale photographs and a new photographic slide installation will also be on view. Curated by Amy Smith-Stewart.
Reception
The free opening, on Sunday, September 22, from 2 to 5pm, will feature artist Xaviera Simmons’s performance, Number 17, presented over a five-hour period starting when the Museum opens to the public at noon. Guests are invited to meet the artists, join docent-led tours, participate in family activities, and purchase picnic fare and craft beer provided by The Ginger Man.
Transportation
Free onsite parking is available. Direct round-trip shuttle service from MoMA PS1 in Long Island City to the September 22 event is available. To reserve your seat, please contact Priscilla Matthews: pmatthews [at] aldrichart.org / T 203 438 4519.
Museum
Founded by Larry Aldrich in 1964, The Aldrich is dedicated to fostering innovative artists whose ideas and interpretations of the world around us serve as a platform to encourage creative thinking. The Aldrich is one of the few independent, non-collecting contemporary art museums in the United States, and the only museum in Connecticut devoted to contemporary art. It is one of only twenty museums in Connecticut and only 318 art museums in the country to be accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The Museum is located at 258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877. All exhibitions and programs are handicapped accessible. Free on-site parking. Regular Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5pm. For more information call 203 438 4519 or visit aldrichart.org.
Sponsors
The Aldrich is supported, in part, by the Connecticut Office of the Arts. The official media sponsors of exhibition openings are Ridgefield Magazine and WSHU Public Radio.
Contact
Pamela Ruggio: T 203 438 4519 / pruggio [at] aldrichart.org
