Case study. |
Luiz Vaz 73 (1975-1981)
Short note
The discussion around current trends and challenges in collecting and preserving electroacoustic, live-electronic, computer music, and multimedia artworks is not new. And yet it has not been sufficiently addressed by museum professionals as this sort of artworks are usually being kept outside institutional spheres. This means that their preservation remains uncertain, with significant works from the 60s onwards already being lost, because composers do not have the human, financial or archival resources to secure the preservation of their works. Sustainable development is, therefore, not being practiced in this context, as we are not taking the necessary measures to preserve this sort of works for future generations who may value it as much as we do. The question that needs to be asked is if museums are prepared to collect, preserve and display electroacoustic, live-electronic, computer music or even intentionally collaborative and multimedia works that exist in between music and the visual arts.
Departing from this question it is of the utmost importance to reflect upon the role of the museum and related institutions, along with that of the conservator of contemporary art, in preserving the contemporary musical heritage as to make the point that: the sustainable preservation of the past is dependent on welcoming differing artistic practices and on practicing difference within current conservation strategies. This argument will be drawn on the case of the mixed-media work Luíz Vaz 73 (1975 -1981), a collaborative, hybrid and liminal artistic manifestation, created by the composer, pianist and conductor Jorge Peixinho (1940-1995) and the visual artist and performer Ernesto de Sousa (1921-1988), which was acquired in January 2019 by the Modern Art Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Luís Vaz 73 was initially conceived, in 1973, by Jorge Peixinho as an electronic piece (organised in 10 parts) - recorded on magnetic tape at the Ghent Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music - to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first edition of the seminal Portuguese poem Os Luíadas, written by Luís Vaz de Camões in 1573. In 1974 Jorge Peixinho invited Ernesto de Sousa to create a visual structure for the work, which come out to include two to four simultaneous slide projections. From this collaboration, emerged Luís Vaz 73 (1975-1981), which encompassed as well several moments of live music improvisation by the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group (GMCL) founded by Jorge Peixinho himself in 1970.
The work acquired by CAM is composed by digital versions of the slide projections (black and white and colour) and of the electronic music, to be displayed/ performed along with live music improvisation. After its acquisition, the work was presented at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, on the 2nd of June 2021 with curatorship by Rita Fabiana in collaboration with the composer and musicologist Jaime Reis. The case of Luís Vaz 73 is used as to demonstrate that the incorporation of this sort of works into modern and contemporary art collections is just a matter of willingness and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Departing from this question it is of the utmost importance to reflect upon the role of the museum and related institutions, along with that of the conservator of contemporary art, in preserving the contemporary musical heritage as to make the point that: the sustainable preservation of the past is dependent on welcoming differing artistic practices and on practicing difference within current conservation strategies. This argument will be drawn on the case of the mixed-media work Luíz Vaz 73 (1975 -1981), a collaborative, hybrid and liminal artistic manifestation, created by the composer, pianist and conductor Jorge Peixinho (1940-1995) and the visual artist and performer Ernesto de Sousa (1921-1988), which was acquired in January 2019 by the Modern Art Centre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, Portugal.
Luís Vaz 73 was initially conceived, in 1973, by Jorge Peixinho as an electronic piece (organised in 10 parts) - recorded on magnetic tape at the Ghent Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music - to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first edition of the seminal Portuguese poem Os Luíadas, written by Luís Vaz de Camões in 1573. In 1974 Jorge Peixinho invited Ernesto de Sousa to create a visual structure for the work, which come out to include two to four simultaneous slide projections. From this collaboration, emerged Luís Vaz 73 (1975-1981), which encompassed as well several moments of live music improvisation by the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group (GMCL) founded by Jorge Peixinho himself in 1970.
The work acquired by CAM is composed by digital versions of the slide projections (black and white and colour) and of the electronic music, to be displayed/ performed along with live music improvisation. After its acquisition, the work was presented at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, on the 2nd of June 2021 with curatorship by Rita Fabiana in collaboration with the composer and musicologist Jaime Reis. The case of Luís Vaz 73 is used as to demonstrate that the incorporation of this sort of works into modern and contemporary art collections is just a matter of willingness and interdisciplinary collaboration.