Kaiser Chiefs explore the boundaries between art and music in a unique and experimental exhibition. Using their position as pop musicians as a starting point, Kaiser Chiefs have chosen to rethink sound as a medium, inviting visitors to join them in exploring the edges between music, art, creation and performance.
They have brought together works by internationally regarded sound artists which have resonated with the band while on their travels and inspired them to look at sound in new ways. One of the works on display will be Janet Cardiff’s The Forty Part Motet, a 40 part choir singing in harmony through 40 individual speakers.
This evocative piece allows people to walk through an oval of speakers and hear a reworking of Thomas Tallis’ ‘Spem in Alium Nunquam Habui’ from the singers’ point of view. The band selected the sound installation because of its relevance to how they hear their own music while performing – ‘an all encompassing space of sound’.
It is one of several loans showcased in this unique exhibition, other highlights include:
• The short film Fiorucci Made me Hardcore by Mark Leckey, which Guardian called “…perhaps the finest portrayal of British nightlife ever captured.”
• The Turner Prize winning work The Woolworth’s Choir of 1979 by Elizabeth Price.
• Archive material from the collections of pioneering composer Pauline Oliveros, who coined the phrase “deep listening®”.
• Daytrip Maryanne, a collaboration between sound sculptor MaryAnne Amacher and guitarist Thruston Moore of Sonic Youth.
The show will also feature works drawn from the collections of York Art Gallery, paired with songs selected from a “set list” by the band. Artists include: Bridget Riley, Jack Butler Yeats, L.S. Lowry, John Holland.
Alongside this, the band have created an installation entitled “Silent Gig” that uses light, colour, and lyrics to create an immersive environment offering visitors a reconfigured experience of a live music show and its elements.
