Classical Paintings Soundtracked by Jamie xx and Other Musicians

July 9, 2015, 10:00am

Hans Holbein the Younger Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve (‘The Ambassadors’) 1533 © The National Gallery, London

In a new summer exhibition at London’s National Gallery, musicians and sound artists have created brand new works inspired by paintings in the museum’s extensive collection of Western European art. Called Soundscapes the museum say the idea is for “visitors to experience these masterpieces in a new way, by ‘hearing’ the paintings and ‘seeing’ the sound.”

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The musicians and artists include Oscar-winning film composer Gabriel Yared who’s created a piece for Cezanne’s Bathers, Turner Prize-winner Susan Philipsz responding to The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, classical composer Nico Muhly responding to The Wilton Diptych, wildlife recorder Chris Watson reacting to Akseli Gallen-Kallela’s Lake Keitele, immersive multimedia duo Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller choosing Antonello da Messina’s St Jerome in his Study, and Jamie xx taking on Théo van Rysselberghe’s 1892 pointillist painting Coastal Scene.

Each painting and work is presented in its own soundproofed room and it’s the first time the museum has experimented with the way they present their collection.

Jamie xx’s piece is called Ultramarine and DIY Mag says it “shifts and sounds slightly different depending on where you stand in the room. Close up to Coastal Scene, his composition sounds all dotty, and fragmented, sprinkles of steel drum appearing now and again like the blue splodges that make up the painting itself. Step back, and Ultramarine grows more saturated and less messy.”

The exhibition has received mixed reviews though—some critics have called it “pointless,” while others see it as a step in the right direction for an institution that has too long relied on stuffy heritage rather than innovation. Either way, if it brings new visitors to see the paintings, surely that can’t be a bad thing.

“When sounds have been composed in response to a work of art they can encourage—even compel—concentration,” says Dr Nicholas Penny, director of the National Gallery. “Furthermore, it can combine with an image to captivate and transport us. Silence, afterwards, is not the same!”

Théo van Rysselberghe Coastal Scene. © The National Gallery, London

Jamie xx’s Ultramarine via @youngturksrec

Soundscapes is on at the National Gallery, in London’s Trafalgar Square through until September 6, 2015. Click here to learn more.

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