The time-honoured skill of classical musicianship is combined in Arcangel’s film with the new trend for video-sharing websites. Taking inspiration from today’s YouTube culture, he has scoured the internet and found thousands of amateur musicians’ performances of ‘Goldberg Variations’, a Bach piece from 1741. By splicing and sequencing this footage, note by note, Arcangel has created a unique and democratic arrangement across separate screens.

There is also a chance to catch some of cory Arcangel’s earlier works, including the interactive video game ‘I Shot Andy Warhol.’ Standing in front of a screen, targets such as the Pope and Flava Flav (from the group Public Enemy) flash by. But you the viewer must locate Andy Warhol, re-enacting art history by shooting the blond-coiffed artist with a Nintendo air rifle. This exhibition is part of the ambitious program of new work at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, showcasing international and UK artists as they become the stars of the future. RH

A couple thousand short films about Glenn Gould, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, City Library and Arts Centre, Fawcett Street, Sunderland, December 7 2007 – January 27 2008. 0191 514 1235. www.ngca.co.uk

< Back | View Archive