Milan Grygar. Sound on Paper

For the first time, the exhibition will present the unique works by Milan Grygar outside of the Czech Republic consisting of visual and acoustic elements, and will document performances based on his musical scores.

Since the 1960s, the artist Milan Grygar from Prague has been engaged with the mutual relationship of image and sound. In 1965 he started recording the sounds created whilst drawing, that from then on became an integral part of his works. He calls these works that comprise acoustic and visual elements »Akustická kresba« [acoustic drawings]. He repeatedly conducts performances, for example in 1986 on invitation by Jan Hoet at the SMAK in Gent, during which he produces drawings with various objects that put out sounds or musically interprets his drawings in collaboration with musicians. In addition, he created drawings and pictures, that he considers as basis for musical performances such as the »Prstová partitura« [finger score] of 1972, that was conceived for percussion instruments.

Between 1970 and 1981, Grygar cooperated with the German musician Erhard Karkoschka and professional musicians in various performances, such as the »Partitura směru zvuku« [score for sound direction] of 1970, the »Archtektonická partitura« [architectonic score] of 1971 as well as the »Partitura krajiny« [landscape score] of 1973. They were performed in Stuttgart, Gent, Saarbrücken, Warsaw, Paris, Lodz, New York, Stockholm and Prague. In 1976, Karkoschka realized a recording based on the 1971 »Partitura krajiny pro E. Karkoschka« [landscape score for E. Karkoschka] in the studio for electronic music in Santa Clara. In 1981, Karkoschka recorded Grygar’s 1973 »Partitura pro trvající zvuk« [score for sustained sound] in the BMS studio of computer music in Stockholm.

At the opening of the exhibition on Friday, July 22, 2016, the »Architektonická partitura« [architectonic score] from the year of 1971 was re-performed by professional musicians.

Artist

Milan Grygar