Art & Language Mascarade

About

"The works and paintings we produce are like masks that invite us to look beyond them."

La Conférence du Jeu de Paume, 1996

Music has been one of the Ariadne's threads running through the work of Art & Language from their meeting with Mayo Thompson in 1974 to the present day. Music as a language, as a form of polyphonic expression, capable of translating the different voices of the collective, is a constantly renewed matrix.

Whether as a springboard for the conception of a work or as a work in itself, music in all its forms is present, so much so that certain works seem to be veritable musical scores.

The relationship with music is approached in a comprehensive way, with no restrictions on genre or practice. The libretto for the opera Victorine is written alongside lyrics for the indie rock band Red Crayola, whose style has often been described as proto-punk.

The collaboration between Art & Language and Red Crayola was fruitful in terms of producing song lyrics. This collection of texts will be published in February by the Château de Montsoreau - Musée d'art contemporain. The two groups have been working together since 1974, producing no fewer than six albums, 3 singles, 2 performances and an opera. Sometimes, the agreements and disagreements of experimental rock echo the very life of the group and its internal discussions between the United States and the United Kingdom.

But what is the place and nature of music in Art & Language?

The exhibition "Art & Language: Masquerade" at the Château de Montsoreau - Musée d'art contemporain is divided into four rooms, and draws on both previously unseen works and archive videos. Like the allegories in classical paintings, the exhibition presents music in four states: personified, acted, in its content and finally performed, in the last room of the exhibition where the public is invited to take part in a karaoke.