Critically acclaimed sound sculpture opens new NGC@WAG program

WINNIPEG AND OTTAWA, Jan. 23, 2013 /CNW/ – On February 1 the Winnipeg
Art Gallery will present the inaugural exhibition of the NGC@WAG
program. A brilliant sound sculpture, Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet, reworks Spem in Alium by 16(th) century English composer Thomas Tallis. Involving 40 separately
recorded choir voices played back through 40 speakers positioned
specifically around the gallery, the 14-minute work creates a deeply
moving effect on visitors. “Most people experience this piece in their
living rooms in front of only two speakers,” says Cardiff. “Even in a
live concert the audience is separated from the individual voices. I
wanted to be able to climb inside the music.” The public is invited to
attend the official opening at 7pm, Friday, February 15, which will be
attended by Marc Mayer, Director and CEO of the National Gallery of
Canada.

Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet is part of NGC@WAG, a three-year partnership between the WAG and the
National Gallery of Canada that will see the two institutions
co-organize  and co-present a series of exclusive exhibitions in the
WAG’s spaces, drawn from the NGC’s exceptional collection. These will
include the presentation of single works, new acquisitions or
full-scale exhibitions designed to complement the WAG’s existing
programming.

Translated as “hope in any other,” Spem in Alium is believed to have been composed in honour of the 40(th) birthday of Queen Elizabeth I in 1573. Cardiff’s version features the
voices of the Salisbury Cathedral Choir. Editions of Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet are owned by the Tate Gallery (London), the Museum of Modern Art (New
York), and the National Gallery of Canada.

“We are very excited about this partnership with the National Gallery of
Canada,” says WAG Executive Director Dr. Stephen Borys. “NGC@WAG allows
the WAG to bring to Winnipeg the best in historical, modern, and
contemporary art from our country’s premiere art collection, giving
visitors an opportunity to see some incredible pieces from Canada and
around the globe.” After the Forty-Part Motet, NGC@WAG will be
presenting a summer exhibition, followed in September by The Clock, an
ode to time and cinema by the internationally-acclaimed artist
Christian Marclay.”

The WAG is the third partnership of this kind for the NGC, the others
being the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto (2010) and the Art
Gallery of Alberta (2009).

“We are enthusiastic about inaugurating the NGC@WAG program with Janet
Cardiff’s acclaimed installation,” says NGC Director and CEO Marc
Mayer. “It is only the first of a series of famous works from the
national collection that we will present in Winnipeg so that the
Manitoba public can experience them first hand.”

RELATED PROGRAMS

Art for Lunch — 12:10pm

Wed, Feb 27 — Curator’s tour

Wed, Mar 6 — U of M music professor, Dr. Gordon Fitzell, an award-winning
composer,  explores the historical evolution of sound art and presents
some of his own improvised experimental compositions.

Presenting sponsor for Janet Cardiff: Forty-Part Motet is Scotiabank.

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The Winnipeg Art Gallery is celebrating its Centennial year with an
unparalleled series of exhibitions, programs, and events promoting the
power of art in life. As Manitoba’s leading art museum, the WAG is home
to over 26,000 works of art spanning ten centuries, including the
world’s preeminent collection of contemporary Inuit art.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is grateful for the support of the following
Centennial sponsors: BMO Financial Group, The Winnipeg Foundation, the
Department of Canadian Heritage, TD Bank, James Richardson & Sons Ltd.,
MTS Allstream, Johnston Group, Air Canada, RBC Royal Bank, PACART,
Great-West Life, Friesens, Manitoba Culture Heritage and Tourism, City
of Winnipeg, Investors Group, Scotiabank, Volunteer Associates of the
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Storm Bistro, Manitoba Lotteries Corporation,
Ernst & Young, Fort Garry Hotel, KPMG, Lawton Partners, Loewen, Parrish
& Heinbecker, Aikins Law, AON, Cambrian Credit Union, Manitoba Blue
Cross, National Leasing, CP Loewen, North West Company, NRG Management.
Media sponsors: Winnipeg Free Press, CTV, CBC, Pattison Outdoor Advertising, 103.1
Virgin Radio, 99.9 BOB FM, Doowah Design, Visual Lizard, Esdale
Printing, Radio-Canada, Travel Manitoba, Tourism Winnipeg, Midcan
Production Technologies.

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About the National Gallery of Canada 

The National Gallery of Canada is home to the most important collections
of historical and contemporary Canadian art. The Gallery also maintains
Canada’s premier collection of European Art from the 14th to the 21st
century, as well as important works of American, Asian and Indigenous
Art and renowned international collections of prints, drawings and
photographs. Created in 1880, the National Gallery of Canada has played
a key role in Canadian culture for well over a century. Among its
principal missions is to increase access to excellent works of art for
all Canadians. To do so, it maintains an extensive touring art
exhibition programme. For more information, visit gallery.ca

SOURCE National Gallery of Canada