The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl
Original Traveling Exhibition
September 02, 2010 – February 06, 2011
Transformative Power of the Vinyl Record
The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl was the first museum exhibition to explore the culture of vinyl records within the history of contemporary art. Bringing together artists from around the world who work with records as their subject or medium, this groundbreaking exhibition examined the record’s transformative power from the 1960s to the present. Through sculpture, installation, drawing, painting, photography, sound work, video and performance, The Record combined contemporary art with outsider art, audio with visual and fine art with popular culture.
The exhibition featured work by 41 artists, including rising stars in the contemporary art world (william cordova, Robin Rhode, Dario Robleto), outsider artists (Mingering Mike), well-established artists (Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Carrie Mae Weems) and artists whose work was shown in a U.S. museum for the first time (Kevin Ei-ichi deForest, Jeroen Diepenmaat, Taiyo Kimura, Lyota Yagi). Trevor Schoonmaker, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art at the Nasher Museum, organized the exhibition. The Record opened at the Nasher Museum and traveled to the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, the Miami Art Museum, now the Perez Art Museum and the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle.
Exhibition Catalogue
The Record was accompanied by a fully illustrated 216-page color catalogue distributed by Duke University Press and available at the Nasher Museum Store ($45, paperback). It includes an introduction by curator Trevor Schoonmaker, statements by each artist in the exhibition and essays that balance personal reflection with critical exploration and scholarly analysis. Contributors include Jeff Chang, Vivien Goldman, Jennifer Kabat, Mark Katz, Josh Kun, Barbara London, Mac McCaughan, Carlo McCormick, Charles McGovern, Mark Anthony Neal, Piotr Orlov, Luc Sante, Trevor Schoonmaker and Dave Tompkins.
Best, Rarest & Most Unexpected
Since the heyday of vinyl, and through its decline and recent resurgence, a surprising number of artists have worked with vinyl records, Schoonmaker pointed out. The Record presented some of the best, rarest and most unexpected examples. The artists in the exhibition use the vinyl record as metaphor, archive, artifact, icon, portrait or transcendent medium.
The exhibition included a broad range of works, such as a hybrid violin and record player, Viophonograph, a seminal work by Laurie Anderson; David Byrne’s original life-sized Polaroid photomontage used for the cover of the 1978 Talking Heads album More Songs About Buildings and Food; a monumental column of vinyl records by cordova; and an important early work by Robleto, who transformed Billie Holiday records in an alchemic process to create hand-painted buttons. Works by Christian Marclay, who has made art with records for 30 years, included his early and rarely seen Recycled Records as well as his most recent record video, Looking for Love.
Two Major Commissions
The Nasher Museum commissioned two works for The Record. Berlin-based artist Satch Hoyt created a 16-foot canoe made of red 45-rpm records with an original soundscape during his 2009 artist residency at Duke. New York artist Xaviera Simmons created photographs of the North Carolina landscape and solicited musical responses from musicians such as Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio and Jim James of My Morning Jacket. The original songs were pressed onto a 12-inch record and played with her installation.
Other artists in the exhibition included Felipe Barbosa, Moyra Davey, Sean Duffy, Yukio Fujimoto, Jack Goldstein, Gregor Hildebrandt, Tim Lee, Ralph Lemon, David McConnell, Dave Muller, Ujino Muneteru, Malick Sidibé, Mark Soo, Meredyth Sparks, Su-Mei Tse, Fatimah Tuggar and Alice Wagner.
Cover to Cover
Accompanying The Record was Cover to Cover, an installation that featured eight artists and musicians who each curated a crate of 20 albums which told a story through the cover visuals. Visitors perused the crates and listened
with headphones to vinyl records on turntables. Crate artists included Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Rodney Graham, Harrison Haynes, Vik Muniz and Cafi and 9th Wonder.
-
william cordova, Greatest Hits (para Micaela Bastidas, Tom Wilson y Anna Mae Aquash), 2008. Column of 3,000 reclaimed vinyl records, Peruvian gourds, VHS tape, cigar, pennies, candle, record covers, wooden base, 156 x 72 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Marjorie and Michael Levine (T '84). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
-
william cordova, Greatest Hits (para Micaela Bastidas, Tom Wilson y Anna Mae Aquash) (detail), 2008. Column of 3,000 reclaimed vinyl records, Peruvian gourds, VHS tape, cigar, pennies, candle, record covers, wooden base, 156 x 72 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Gift of Marjorie and Michael Levine (T '84). Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Peter Paul Geoffrion.
-
Taiyo Kimura, Haunted By You, 2009. DVD, 5-minute loop. © Taiyo Kimura. Image courtesy of the artist, Taiyo Kimura. Collection of the Nasher Museum.
-
Dario Robleto, Lamb of Man/Atom, 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange. Courtesy of the artist.
-
Dario Robleto, Lamb of Man/Atom and Eve/Americana Materia Medica (installation) 2006-07. Colored paper, cardboard, ribbon, foamcore, glue, willow, 60 x 185 x 8 inches; 60 x 60 x 4.75 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Fund for Acquisitions with additional funds provided by Dr. Peter H. Klopfer, the children of Marilyn M. Segal in her honor, and the bequest of Viola Mitchell Fearnside, by exchange. Courtesy of the artist.
-
Alice Wagner, Serie Percusión (Percussion Series) (detail) 2009. Colored thread, wax on canvas, 12.5 x 12.5 inches each. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Fund for Acquisitions.
-
Carrie Mae Weems, Ode to Affirmative Action, 1989. Photograph and record, Framed, 24 x 30 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Fund for Acquisitions.
-
-
Xaviera Simmons, Session Three: Player, Thundersnow Road, from the project Thundersnow Road, North Carolina, 2010. Color photograph. Commissioned by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Courtesy of the artist. With accompanying song, “Of The Mother Again,” written, recorded and performed by Yim Yames with Dave Givan on drums.
-
Xaviera Simmons, Session One: Around The Y from the project Thundersnow Road, North Carolina, 2010. Color photograph. Commissioned by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Courtesy of the artist. With accompanying song, “Two Tracks” written by Austin McCutchen.
-
Robin Rhode, Wheel of Steel, 2006. Nine digital pigment prints mounted on four-ply museum board, 49.5 x 68 inches; each panel print size, 15.5 x 22 inches. Collection of the Nasher Museum. Purchase, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University Fund for Acquisitions. © Robin Rhode. Image courtesy the artist and Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York.
Featured
Featured
Video
David McConnell: A Portrait in Sound
by Nasher Museum Duration 08m 030s Published
Featured
Featured
Articles
The Record Draws Artists, Celebrities & Luminaries
We knew The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl would attract folks who had never been to the Nasher Museum. We did not expect such a glittering list of famous artists, writers and musicians! The photo album of lum...
Published
The New York Times: What's On
Read the preview that appeared in The New York Times.
-
Dr. Kenneth Montague, a Toronto-based collector, strikes a pose. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Visiting London-based curator David Bailey shares a moment with Sarah Schroth (then senior curator) and Trevor Schoonmaker, who curated The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Washington, D.C.-based artist Mingering Mike (left) enjoys the opening event with a friend. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Myra Scibetta Weise (right) takes in works of art in The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Visitors throng the galleries within The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Visitors take a closer look at works by Mingering Mike within The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
A very young visitor and her mother enjoy the opening event for The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
DJs spin records at the opening event for The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Durham-based artist Stacy Lynn Waddell (left) hangs out with artist/cultural practitioner william cordova (center) and artist Lyota Yagi at The Record opening event. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Curator Trevor Schoonmaker peruses "Cover to Cover," an accompanying installation within The Record: Contemporary Art & Vinyl. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Curator Trevor Schoonmaker poses with his family. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
From left: Liz Phillips, Courtney Reid-Eaton, Alexa Dilworth, Wendy Hower and Lyota Yagi. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Visitors take a closer look within the galleries. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
The late artist Barkley L. Hendricks (left) shares a fun moment with artist Taiyo Kimura. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Japanese artist Lyota Yagi plays his frozen record. Photo by J Caldwell.
-
Artist Lyota Yagi explains his frozen record artwork to UNC scholar Mark Katz. Photo by J Caldwell.
Related to this exhibition
Show