June 9, 2014
Performance art at Prada's Art or Sound exhibit
Italian fashion house Prada is continuing the support of the arts with a new exhibition that explores the connections between art and sound from the 16th century to modern day.
Presented by the brand’s contemporary art and culture institution, Fondazione Prada, the exhibit, “Art or Sound,” examines musical instruments, artist-musician roles and how visual arts and music have been combined. Although the exhibit’s theme may seem unrelated to Prada’s industry, Art or Sound will work to strengthen the brand’s role as an advocate for the arts.
"The underlying goal of this exhibition is to showcase how the worlds of music and art have converged, intertwined and influenced one other," said Ryan Hattaway, president of Mogul Media Group, Miami, FL. "Similarly, fashion is an art form in itself, and largely influences both music and modern pop culture.
"Prada understands that these industries, while separate, also overlap tremendously, and share a target demographic that appreciates creativity, style and craftsmanship," he said. "Today's most successful brands are those who understand how to create compelling content and how to tell a good story.
"This exhibit is a platform that allows Prada to do both, while aligning itself with the culturally significant heritage of art and music."
Mr. Hattaway is not affiliated with Prada, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Prada did not respond by press deadline.
Sound as art and vice versa
Curated by Germano Celant, Art or Sound will be held at Prada’s event space Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, Italy. The exhibit will be open from June 7 through Nov. 3.
Art or Sound’s objective is to explore the “symmetry and ambivalence that exists between works of art and sound objects.” The exhibit looks to achieve this by reinterpreting musical instruments as sculptures, visual entities and pieces of art that produce sound.
Fondazione Prada's Ca’ Corner della Regina, center
Fondazione Prada explains that Art or Sound looks to capture the simultaneous “free transition” and “mutual independence" that has existed between art and sound. Visitors will encounter visual and audio displays to understand the shared, and separate, journey of art and sound.
This notion will be explored through a multi-sensory approach including hearing, touching, smelling and tasting elements on the displays to create a more enriching experience for visitors.
The exhibit will include more than 180 artifacts that reflect the “encounter between two independent realms.” Included in the exhibit are objets d’art such as clocks and carillons, automata and musical machines, paintings, musical scores, sculptures and readymades.
Exhibit space for Fondazione Prada's Art or Sound
According to a branded statement, these items, in addition to decorated, assembled, imaginary and silent musical instruments will be shown on the two main floors of Ca’ Corner della Regina. For Art or Sound, the rooms of the event space’s second “piano nobile” will be used for the first time since being extensively renovated by Fondazione Prada.
The displays included in Art or Sound are organized chronologically with music-themed paintings by Bartolomeo Veneto and Nicola Giolfino painted between 1520 and 1530. To bring the visual to the audio, instruments from the time period will be played.
Additional pieces include inlaid marble guitars made by Michele Antonio Grandi and a 17th-century cornet in the form of a snake with a dragon’s head. Beyond musical instruments, these objects also are works of art that display immense craftsmanship.
Also on display will be Swiss craftsman and watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz's automata bird cage from the 18th century (see story). Other items include a pyrophone, a 19th-century instrument powered by gas and musical experiments, born from art genres such as Futurism and Dadaism, that integrated noises into artwork.
Pierre Jaquet-Droz's bird cage automata
The exhibit features musical scores of artists who have explored “the principle of indeterminacy and chance” in music and art. Art or Sound also includes images and forms of a collection of musical objects such as sculptures that can be played, an improv performance piece staged in front of a painted score and pieces that require visitor interaction like Doug Aitken's “Marble Sonic Table” and Laurie Anderson’s “Handphone Table.”
To ensure that the multi-sensory experience for one visitor does not affect another person’s, the floors and display stands have been covered with sound-attenuating materials so guests can focus.
Art is the word
Prada’s publishing branch, Progetto Prada Art, published a book for Art or Sound that includes a preface by brand creative director Miuccia Prada and CEO Patrizio Bertelli, an introduction by exhibit curator Germano Celant and critical essays by an array of artists and critics as well as art work from the exhibit.
Cover of Fondazione Prada's Art or Sound book of essays and art work
The brand has looked to the written word to showcase its support of fine art in the past.
For example, Italian fashion label Prada is hosting its second annual Prada Journal competition that asks consumers to submit short stories that use the brand’s eyewear as the starting point for approaching a topic.
For this year’s competition, again in collaboration with publishing house Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Prada gave a prompt that told consumers to examine how the world is changing now and how it will change going forward. This added to Prada’s growing collection of creative projects that further solidify the brand’s position in the art world, while creating a bond between fashion and literature (see story).
Offering consumers a keepsake allows the memory of the branded experience last beyond the initial experience.
"Prada's involvement benefits the exhibit by exposing this rich history of art and music to an affluent audience who has an appreciation for creative culture, and by the alignment with one of the worlds most influential luxury brands of today," Mr. Hattaway said.
"The print publication will serve to capture and commemorate this experience and give those involved a tangible takeaway piece to further educate and promote this exhibit long after it's over," he said.
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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