Big Orchestra

Sound is an essential part of contemporary art. Yet musical instruments, which are simultaneously sculptures, represent a recent development that is still relatively unknown. In the international group exhibition Big Orchestra the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt presents artworks that also perform as musical instruments. The playing of these sculptural instruments is the focus of the exhibition, a concept that is itself in a state of flux. For the duration of the show, the Schirn will become a temporary concert hall in which the works are activated and visitors can experience their sound live. Mobile display architecture will create space for workshops in which the sound of the instruments is explored by musicians in changing ensembles and subsequently presented in concerts. The show includes works by 16 artists: Doug Aitken, Nevin Aladağ, Allora & Calzadilla, Carlos Amorales, Tarek Atoui, Cevdet Erek, Guillermo Galindo, Hans van Koolwijk, Constantin Luser, Christian Marclay, Caroline Mesquita, Rie Nakajima, Carsten Nicolai, Pedro Reyes, Naama Tsabar, and David Zink Yi.

Dr. Philipp Demandt, director of Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt: “With Big Orchestra, the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt adds a central aspect to previous sound exhibitions and focuses on the production of sound in its entirety. The ever-changing show emerges as a process: the visual aspects of the sculptures combine with the acoustic and performative qualities of the artworks, which are developed by musicians during the course of the exhibition, and can then be experienced live by our visitors.”

The starting point for the concept is the extension of the definition of art and music by the Fluxus movement of the 1960s: happenings or actions were understood as “concerts,” because they were structured in a similar fashion to compositions and combined different media and materials with one another. The Schirn is showing the production of sound in its entirety, with the audible on a par with the visible. The artworks presented are considered hybrid objects—they are as much visual sculptures as they are musical instruments, and their activation is physical performance. Each of them embraces the process of performance by artists, performers, or musicians, which in turn may influence the production and composition of music, as well as its reception.

Matthias Ulrich, curator of the exhibition, explains: “The shift from visual to acoustic in contemporary art is not as peripheral as often assumed—rather, exhibitions without sound are now the exception. At the same time, this change in reception rarely leads to more than a passing comment. This happens despite the fact that the sound not only guides the viewer, but also rather fundamentally determines the perception of any work of art. This is where the exhibition Big Orchestra comes in, dedicating a long overdue, entire exhibition to sound and its immanent quality of absolute presence, of permanent becoming.”

The key moment of Big Orchestra is the activation of the sculptural instruments. They are played in the exhibition in live performances by the artists. Renowned musicians from the fields of New and Experimental Music will work with the instruments in the exhibition in various formats, such as workshops, concerts, and performances, and will also develop new compositions. Visitors to the Schirn are also invited to actively participate in special formats. The composition “Music for Exhibitions” by Orm Finnendahl, created especially for the exhibition, finally unites samples of all the works in an algorithmically structured score that can be listened to between workshops and concerts.

The comprehensive and up-to-date live program of the exhibition is available at: www.schirn.de

A catalog has been published in an English/German edition. Edited by Matthias Ulrich with a foreword by Dr. Philipp Demandt. With essays by Irene Noy, Marion Saxer, Matthias Ulrich, and Salome Voegelin, as well as short texts on the exhibited works.

The exhibition Big Orchestra is supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, the Freunde der Schirn Kunsthalle e. V., and the Musikfonds e. V. with project funds from the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Director: Dr. Philipp Demandt
Curator: Matthias Ulrich
Press contact: Johanna Pulz (Head of Press/Public Relations):
presse [​at​] schirn.de / T (+49 69) 29 98 82 148

Press material: www.schirn.de/en (texts, images, and films for download under PRESS)