The presence of Teho Teardo has made itself known in the world of contemporary art. It has been palpable for some time now. Always eager to meet eye to eye with any possibility of musical exploration and experimentation connected to the visual arts, this composer alternates between writing music for photographic works (his work for Charles Fréger’s “Wilder Man”) or for both contemporary and historic film (Man Ray’s three films inspired his acclaimed “Le retour à la raison”) and even finding inspiration from the final stage of Joan Mirò’s artistic output.
Teardo’s relationship with contemporary art has become even more intense now that the musician has been assigned the prestigious “Carte Blanche” by Venice’s Palazzo Grassi for a musical installation placed in the foyer of Palazzo Grassi’s theatre. The installation is entitled “Sea Change” and the multi-media performance in collaboration with MP5 is entitled “Phantasmagorica”.
“Sea Change” is a musical installation inspired by the lagoon atmosphere, generated by several recordings made by immersing microphones in the dark and murky bed of the Venetian lagoon and other field recording sessions. Darkness is the principal element of musical design and imperceptible figures of spirits and mysterious creatures are evoked from this obscurity in a kind of ceaseless motion and incessant transformation of figures and environments.
The installation is being held at the same time as the exhibit of works by British sculptor Damien Hirst entitled “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” recently inaugurated at Palazzo Grassi. It is the result of a decade-in-the-making opus which includes an 18-metre high giant in resin covered with marine encrustations and sediments – a combination of reality and simulation, myth and current events.
The multi-media performance “Phantasmagorica”, already slated to appear in prestigious theatres such as the Théatre National de Bruxelles, features a special guest for the Venetian edition: director Abel Ferrara is acting as Master of Ceremonies.
The musical work is gloomy and is tightly bound to the dark: a liquid element that pervades MP5’s performance as the source of images like ghosts generated by the most impenetrable darkness. The connection between music and images created by MP5 is partially based upon the opposition between symmetry, the cyclic nature of screening and phase shifts – both rhythmic and harmonic – of the musical world Teardo has designed for this performance.
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The musical work is gloomy and is tightly bound to the dark: a liquid element that pervades MP5’s performance as the source of images like ghosts generated by the most impenetrable darkness. The connection between music and images created by MP5 is partially based upon the opposition between symmetry, the cyclic nature of screening and phase shifts – both rhythmic and harmonic – of the musical world Teardo has designed for this performance.
«Carte Blanche a Teho Teardo» (sound installation «See Change» and «Phantasmagorica», multimedia performance with MP5), 21-22-23.04.2017, Teatrino Palazzo Grassi, Venice, sound performance with the voice of Hugh O’Conor (free entrance). Please visit here Palazzo Grassi’s website for the full calendar of events.
Images: (cover 1) Teho Teardo, «Phantasmagorica», 2017, photo © Elia Falaschi (2) Teho Teardo, «Phantasmagorica», 2017, photo © claudia pajewski (3) Teho Teardo con Abel Ferrara e Mp5, «Phantasmagorica», 2017, photo © Alessandro Penso
