LE GRAND ORCHESTRE DES ANIMAUX, A FONDATION CARTIER EXHIBITION

By Crash redaction

« LE GRAND ORCHESTRE DES ANIMAUX » CELEBRATES THE WORK OF BERNIE KRAUSE

From July 2nd, 2016, to January 8th, 2017, the Fondation Cartier for contemporary art is presenting a beautiful exhibition dedicated to the pioneering work of musician and scientist Bernie Krause, who has made his life mission to document and understand the sounds of nature, particularly of all sorts of wild animals. For over forty years, Krause has been recording over 5,000 hours of sounds from nature, unveiling the beauty and diversity of the many languages of wild animals. Celebrating his approach, the exhibition evolves around both visual and sound aspects. Curated by Hervé Chandès, it gathers the works of artists from all over the world, from Hiroshi Sugimoto to Moke to Adriana Varejão and more, with a scenography by Mexican architects Gabriela Carrillo and Mauricio Rocha, a terra cotta brick wall installation that goes from the inside to the outside and recreates the idea of an orchestra. Walking into the exhibition space, the visitor will discover a 18-meter long drawing by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qianq, a commission especially created for the exhibition. On the other side, a selection of Manabu Miyazaki’s hyperreal photographs of wild animals walking in the paths of humans, which he captured using « camera traps » that provide such extraordinary spontaneity. Naturally with this exhibition, there is a relationship between the indoors and the outdoors. For instance, a ceramic wall with painted Amazonian birds by Brazilian artist Adriana Varejão sits as a link with the outside, while in a cabin in the garden, Agnès Varda shares a short film she directed in homage of her late cat Zgougou. The exhibition wouldn’t be called « orchestra » without a bit of music, a theme explored by Congolese painter Moke with L’Orchestre dans la forêt (1999), or JP Mika with Les Bruits de la nature (2012). Finally, sound and nature are made one in an immersive installation brought by the United Visual Artists collective (UVA) who deliver an impressive visual transcription of Bernie Krause’s recordings based on the movements of luminescent particles, always evolving with each new animal. Le Grand Orchestre des Animaux is both immersive and educational, and gives a faithful understanding of nature, which inevitably raises the burning issue of our impact as humans and its many consequences.

www.fondation.cartier.com / www.legrandorchestredesanimaux.com

Hiroshi Sugimoto, Alaskan Wolves, 1994, Gelatin silver print, collection of the artist © Hiroshi Sugimoto

Manabu Miyazaki, A black bear plays with the camera, 2006, Color Photograph, Collection of the artist © Manabu Miyazaki

Manabu Miyazaki, Jay, Nagano (Japan), 2016 Color Photograph, Collection of the artist © Manabu Miyazaki

Adriana Varejão, Passarinhos, 2012, Wall of hand-painted ceramic tiles by Beatriz Sauer, Collection of the artist © Adriana Varejão, Photo: Jaime Acioli

Christian Sardet, Vanadis polychaete annelid, Bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, 2009, © Christian Sardet and The Macronauts / Plankton Chronicles

JP Mika, Les Bruits de la nature, 2012 Acrylic on canvas, Private collection © JP Mika Photo: André Morin

Moke, L’Orchestre dans la forêt, 1999 Acrylic on canvas, CAAC – The Pigozzi Collection, Genève © Moke Photo: Maurice Aeschimann

Visual installation taken from Bernie Krause’s recordings, by United Visual Artists (UVA), Photo: Luc Boegly