Orpheus Twice Preview and an Evening of Performances
For the preview opening of the exhibition, Orpheus Twice, DRAF features an evening of performances with Philip Glass, Bruce McLean and Paul Burnell.
The evening will start with a piece by Paul Burnell for hands and voice. At once a score, a poem and a performance, And She Flew, composed in 2006, is performed by percussionist Sam Wilson. Paul Burnell is a British composer, born in 1960 in Ystrad, South Wales who now lives and writes in London. His music often uses repetition and pulse within a structure that can be easily perceived as a process.
There will be a performance of Music in the Shape of a Square by Philip Glass, one of the most influential American composers of the late 20th century. The piece will be performed by Caoimhe de Paor and Miriam Nerval.
Glass, shortly after arriving in New York City in March 1967, attended a performance of works by Steve Reich, which left a deep impression on him. Glass began performing mainly in art galleries and studio lofts. The visual artist Richard Serra provided Glass with gallery contacts, while both collaborated on various sculptures, films and installations, including the iconic Splash Piece. Between summer of 1967 and the end of 1968, Glass composed nine works, including Music in the Shape of a Square (for two flutes, composed in May 1968, an homage to Erik Satie). The first concert of Glass’ new music was at Jonas Mekas’ Film-Makers Cinematheque in September 1968. This concert included Music in the Shape of a Square (performed by Glass himself and Jon Gibson). The musical scores were tacked on the wall, and the performers had to move while playing. Glass’ new works met with a very enthusiastic response by the audience that consisted mainly of visual and performance artists. During this time, he made friends with other New York-based artists such as Sol LeWitt, Nancy Graves, Michael Snow, Bruce Nauman, Laurie Anderson and Chuck Close.
A performance, 1000 works, forms the basis of the catalogue/exhibition/performance from Bruce McLean’s 1972 King for a Day. It was performed once in 1969 and is re-played at DRAF for the first time by Bruce McLean himself.
In 1965, Bruce McLean abandoned conventional studio production in favour of impermanent sculptures using materials such as water, along with performances of a generally satirical nature directed against the art world. In Pose Work for Plinths (1971; in the David and Indrė Roberts Collection), a photographic documentation of one such performance, he used his own body to parody the poses of Henry Moore’s celebrated reclining figures. When in 1972 McLean was offered an exhibition at the Tate Gallery, he opted, with obviously mocking intent, for a ‘retrospective’ lasting only one day. King for a Day (included in the exhibition Orpheus Twice) consisted of catalogue entries for a thousand mock-conceptual, non-existing, works, among them The Society for Making Art Deadly Serious piece, Henry Moore revisited for the 10th Time piece and There’s no business like the Art business piece (sung). A performance, 1000 works, forms the basis of the catalogue/exhibition/performance from 1972 King for a Day. It was performed once in 1969 and is re-played at DRAF for the first time by Bruce McLean himself.