Kaldor Public Art Projects at the State Library of Victoria
Allora & Calzadilla, Stop, Repair, Prepare: variations on 'Ode to joy', 2008, The Museum of Modern Art, Gift of the Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf, photo: Yi-Chun WU/Museum of Modern Art
Kaldor Public Art Projects will present its 26th art project, featuring the work of internationally renowned artist duo Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, in the Cowen Gallery at the State Library of Victoria from the 16th November until the 6th December 2012.
The artists will present their work Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on ‘Ode to Joy’ for a Prepared Piano, in which they integrate sound, performance and sculpture to create a captivating new experience for audiences, heralding a new direction for international contemporary art.
Jennifer Allora (born 1974, USA) and Guillermo Calzadilla (born 1971, Cuba) live and work in Puerto Rico and have been collaborating as an artist duo for fifteen years. Allora and Calzadilla have produced an experimental and interdisciplinary body of work, combining performance, sculpture, video and sound.
A poetic meditation on art, idealism and power, the composition performed is the 4th movement of Beethoven’s famous 9th Symphony, known as ‘An Ode to Joy’ and widely understood as a hymn to humanity, a testament to human fraternity and brotherhood. This ever-popular piece of classical music has been co-opted throughout its history by proponents of diverse and conflicting politics and ideologies – from nationalists to dictators, demagogues and its more recent adoption as the official anthem of the European Union in 1985.
In Allora and Calzadilla’s variation, the work is recognisable but incomplete, as the cut renders two octaves of the piano inoperable and the resulting keys leave only a hollow resonance.
For this presentation by Kaldor Public Art Projects at Melbourne’s State Library of Victoria, the work will be performed on-the-hour, every hour, like the chiming of a clock. Commencing at 11am daily with final performances at 8pm Monday to Thursday, and 5pm Friday to Saturday.
The work will be performed by a number of high calibre students of music from the Victorian College of Arts who will be individually selected by Allora and Calzadilla.
Stop, Repair, Prepare is presented from Friday 16 November to Thursday 6 December. Performances will occur on the hour from 11am–8pm Monday to Thursday and 11am–5pm Friday to Sunday.
Website http://slv.vic.gov.au/event/kaldor-public-art-project-26-allora-and-calzadilla
Events program
Turning the familiar upside down: John Kaldor in conversation
Hear John Kaldor discuss his series of innovative and groundbreaking public art projects. Starting with Christo and Jean-Claude’s wrapped coastline in Sydney (1968–69) to Jeff Koons’ Puppy (1996) and now Kaldor Public Art Project #26: Allora & Calzadilla at the State Library, John Kaldor has been challenging our perceptions and enhancing our appreciation of contemporary art for over 40 years.
Date: Monday 3 December 2012, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Venue: Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library of Victoria
Free. Bookings required. Book online or phone 03 8664 7099, email inquiries@slv.vic.gov.au
Allora & Calzadilla: artists’ talk
Kaldor Public Art Projects invite you to hear Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla discuss their captivating Kaldor Public Art Project #26, Stop, Repair, Prepare: variations on ‘Ode to joy’ for a prepared piano, in which a pianist enters a Bechstein grand piano and plays Beethoven’s Ode to joy from within as the piano is wheeled across the floor.
Victoria Lynn, director of TarraWarra Museum of Art, will lead the conversation.
Date: Friday 16 November 2012, 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Venue: Village Roadshow Theatrette, State Library of Victoria
Free. Bookings required. Book online or phone 03 8664 7099, email inquiries@slv.vic.gov.au