From Iceland — Contents Of Björk's MoMA Show Revealed

Contents Of Björk’s MoMA Show Revealed

Published February 19, 2015

Gallery gives a walk-through of what the exhibition will contain

Contents Of Björk’s MoMA Show Revealed

Gallery gives a walk-through of what the exhibition will contain

More details of Björk’s MoMA exhibition have been released, including a tantalising trailer. The video shows an excerpt from a performance of ‘Black Lake’ in which Björk lies, gushing dark liquid from a chest wound.

The exhibition – which marks the first time the gallery will dedicate a solo show by someone primarily considered a musician – will consist of several collaborative installations made of “sound, film, visuals, instruments, objects, and costumes.”

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As well as an exhibition of the special instruments used on the Biophilia tour, there will be a video retrospective room, the newly-commissioned Black Lake video installation, and ‘Songlines’ – “an interactive, location-based audio experience through Björk’s albums, with a biographical narrative that is both personal and poetic, written by the acclaimed Icelandic writer Sjón, along with many visuals, objects, and costumes, including the robots designed by Chris Cunningham for the “All Is Full of Love” music video, Marjan Pejowski’s Swan Dress (2001), and Iris van Herpen’s Biophilia tour dress (2013), among many others.”

There will also be a fancy and tempting-looking catalogue for the show, described on the MoMA website as follows:

“Designed by top graphic design agency M/M as a slipcased world of wonders, this publication—which accompanies The Museum of Modern Art’s spring 2015 exhibition—is composed of six parts: four booklets, a paperback, and a poster. The booklets contain illustrated texts by curator Klaus Biesenbach, New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, professor of musicology Nicola Dibben, and philosopher Timothy Morton (in conversation with Björk), while the poster features artwork from Björk’s albums and singles. The poster itself is composed of small perforated stickers, similar to a giant sheet of stamps. The main book focuses on her major albums and the personas created for each one. Poetic texts by longtime collaborator Icelandic poet Sjón are accompanied by shots of Björk performing live; stills from music videos made by directors including Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, and Spike Jonze; images of Björk in costumes by designers such as Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan; and shots by photographers such as Nan Goldin, Juergen Teller, Stéphane Sédnaoui, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, and Araki.”

Tickets will go fast, and the ‘Songlines’ section will require timed entry tickets, sold daily on a first-come-first-served basis.

More details of the show on the MoMA website, here.

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