OUROBOROS THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES CCA - Centre for Contemporary Art, 350 Sauchiehall Street
OPENING ON FRIDAY 6 FEBUARY FROM 7-9 ROGER ACKLING...DAVID ALKER & PETER LIDDELL...JIM LAMBIE...JULIO LE PARC...PETER LYNCH...CHRISTIAN MARCLAY...DAVE ALLEN & JONATHAN MONK STEVEN RENSHAW...ROBERT SMITHSON...CALUM STIRLING As part of the new freelance curatorial structure, consisting of three visual arts curators and one for performance, John Calcutt (Associate Curator for Visual Art) presents his first exhibition at the CCA between 7 February and 4 April: Ouroboros: The Music of Spheres. Ouroboros is the snake that devours its own tail, an ancient symbol of the recurrent cycle of creativity, destruction and renewal. The form of the circle has fascinated our imaginations since earliest times, fixed perhaps by the arcing celestial tracks of the sun and moon. In this exhibition the circle joins forces with those other fundamental forms - the square and the spiral - to provide the starting points for a series of imaginary journeys through space and time. The formal and metaphysical relations between the circle and the square were the inspiration for much twentieth century abstract painting. At the same time, these forms are ideally suited to the mechanised techniques of mass-production, resulting in the square album cover and the circular discs produced by the record industry. The grooves of a vinyl record introduce the dynamic of the spiral into the regularity of the revolving disc and also the element of time. As the stylus begins its journey through time from the start of the spiral grove to its end, it also begins to erode the disc, imperceptibly inaugurating its destruction. This exhibition invites the visitor to make their own connections from within a variety of imagery and experiences: from spiral record grooves, to Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty, to spiral galaxies. From revolving turntables, to the spinning earth, to orbiting satellites. From scratched vinyl, to geological erosion, to the dust rings of Saturn. >From decaying material, to the precision of high technology. From Ouroboros to the Music of the Spheres. For more details please contact the CCA press office on 0141 332-7521. Artists: Using a magnifying glass to concentrate the sun's rays, Roger Ackling burns grooves into pieces of 'found' wood. In "Norfolk" (2003) he combines this technique with rubber bands and mapping pins to produce small works that simultaneously evoke a cosmic scale. David Alker and Peter Liddell are based in Manchester. Their miniaturized version of Malevich's Last Futurist Painting Exhibition revitalizes this historic event by bringing it into a contemporary context. Their series of Record Covers are painted on cream crackers. Jim Lambie is one of Scotland's most successful young artists, representing the nation at the Venice Biennale 2003. His stunning work often makes reference to music and records, but always in relation to issues within contemporary art. He has produced new work for Ouroboros. Julio Le Parc was born in Mendoza, Argentina. After training in Buenos Aires he moved to Paris in 1958, and helped found the Groupe de Recherche D'art Visuel. Winner of the painting prize at the 1966 Venice Biennale, his work is associated with the Op and Kinetic art movements of the 1960s. Peter Lynch produces abstract paintings that are both extremely beautiful and slightly repulsive. The artist runs his finger through the textured paint surface in order to produce linear, asymmetric compositions which make reference to the work of earlier abstract artists such as Mondrian and Malevich. The pioneering work of Christian Marclay represents a cross-over between the roles of artist, musician and DJ. The video "Record Players" (1984) typifies his interest in direct engagement with the fragile material of vinyl records. Dave Allen and Jonathan Monk are both internationally established artists based in Berlin who occasionally collaborate. Their joint interest in contemporary music led to "Gyrostasis", an impressive installation of suspended vinyl records. Steven Renshaw is a recent graduate from the MFA programme at the University of Central Lancashire. His sculptural work investigates vinyl records and turntables, focusing upon their materiality and fragility. Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" (1970) is one of the key works of land art, uniting the terrestrial with the celestial, the mythological with the technological, and art with nature. Calum Stirling's work has been widely exhibited. Much of it is concerned with the relations between the technology of sound recording and sculptural form. His sculptures and videos are often lyrical evocations of soundscapes. The work "Tectonic Plates" will be shown here for the first time. ------------------------------------------------- a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and write "info ambit" in the message body -------------------------------------------------
