Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art has opened The Record, a museum exhibition dedicated to exploring vinyl culture within the history of contemporary art.
Drawing from the fields of sculpture, installation, painting, photography, video, performance and more, The Record will feature 99 works by 33 artists, including Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Laurie Anderson, Christian Marclay and Carrie Mae Weems. The exhibition was organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and is accompanied by a 240-page color catalogue.
In the words of Jill Medvedow, director of the ICA, “in today’s era of digital, downloadable music, the vinyl record—powerfully marked with history and nostalgia—has become a meaningful vehicle of expression for visual artists … The Record presents some of the best, rarest and most unexpected examples of artists whose work has been influenced by music and vinyl. We are thrilled to present this exhibition in Boston, giving art and music lovers alike the opportunity to discover, or re-discover, the tremendous artistic response the record has inspired.”
The exhibition was coordinated by Jenelle Porter, who expands. “For many contemporary artists, the vinyl record looms large, taking on a significance that moves well beyond the medium’s traditional use, and thoroughly into a space of innovative artistic production … In the hands of visual artists, the vinyl record is used as a metaphor, archive, artifact, icon, or portrait. The exhibition explores the impact of the record on both art and popular culture and the ways in which vinyl has been manipulated, preserved and transformed through art.”
The exhibition includes a broad range of works, such as a hybrid violin and record player, David Byrne’s original life-sized Polaroid photomontage used for the cover of 1978 Talking Heads album More Songs About Buildings and Food, a column of vinyl records by William Cordova; and an important early work by Dario Robleto, who transformed Billie Holiday records in an alchemic process to create hand-painted buttons. It runs until September 16; more information here.
