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Work Type:painting, drawing
Work Sub Type:diptych
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Date of work:1999
Materials:medium: oil on polyester, aliminium

Measurements:height: 114 cm
notes: each

width: 156 cm
notes: each

Collection:Liverpool Biennial
Description:
Carsten Nicolai was a member of a small group of artists working through Eigen and Art in Leipzig prior to the reunification of Germany. Embracing performance and installation art, as well as more traditional media, they were an exceptional group at a time when figurative painting was the acceptable norm. Since then Nicolai has continued with his varied practice, developing a keen interest in the psychological and physical effects of sound. This interest has formed the basis of his performance work on the club scene, where he is known as Noto.


The artist's work for Liverpool will be an extension of his research on the possible bodily effects of vibration. Sampled tones, modem beeps, and telephone pops and clicks are organised into loops to produce minimalist cycles of abstract sound. The result is a manifestation of the invisible energy of electricity: the acoustic trace of an intangible commodity. Nicolai's drawings - which might be compared to Duchamp's explorations of the mechanical metaphor - form the notations for the music he has composed.
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Source:Trace, 1st Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Festival catalogue
Date of source:1999