Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet opens March 4, 2016
The critically acclaimed sound installation, Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet will presented at the Mobile Museum of Art, March 4, through July 3, 2016. This brilliant sound sculpture by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff is a reworking of Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis, a 16th-century English composer. Forty separately-recorded choir voices are played back through 40 speakers positioned around the gallery.
This exhibition was organized by The National Gallery of Canada. Its presentation at the Mobile Museum of Art is sponsored by PNC: “PNC remains committed to thoughtful, local collaborations that produce impactful arts programming,” said Brian Bucher, PNC regional president for Alabama. With “The Forty Part Motet” and works by other globally acclaimed artists, the Mobile Museum of Art and its supporters continue their successful efforts to bring compelling and accessible art to the Gulf Coast.”
Additional support for the Mobile presentation is provided by Dr. Bree Hayes (Board Member, Mobile Symphony Orchestra), and by the City of Mobile, Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Described as “achingly beautiful” (The New Yorker) and “transcendent” (The New York Times), this presentation will offer Museum visitors on the Gulf Coast the rare opportunity to experience a major artwork of our time. Artist Janet Cardiff has noted of the piece: “Even in a live concert the audience is separated from the individual voices. Only the performers are able to hear the person standing next to them singing a different harmony. I wanted to be able to climb inside the music.”
The Mobile Museum of Art will close to the public Thursday, March 3, at 5 p.m. and open at 6 p.m. for a private, members-only reception and preview. The exhibition will open to the public the following day, March 4, at 10 a.m., and remains on view through July 3, 2016.
An admission fee of $5 for adults ($3.00 for children 12 and under) will be charged for this special installation only. All other exhibitions on view are covered by general admission policies and prices.
