Archduchess of Austria and heiress to the Thyssen Bornemisza Art collection, Francesca Von Habsburg is also one of the world's greatest patrons of contemporary art.
Her foundation, T-B A21, has staged exhibitions all over the world with some of the finest contemporary artists. The foundation’s latest 'event', The Morning Line, is part of Istanbul’s Capital of Culture 2010 official programme and is presented in association with Turkey’s Vehbi Koç Foundation.
It’s a formidable, itinerant open-air sonic temple built of perforated coated aluminium that measures 8m high by 20m long and weighs 20 tonnes. You can see it standing in the middle of Eminönü Square, Istanbul.
Designed by artist Matthew Ritchie, and realised by New York architectural firm, Aranda/Lasch, the structure comprises 40 speakers as part of a multi-spatial sound system that broadcasts a series of works composed by the world’s foremost sonic artists.
Brought together by T-B A21 curator and fellow sound creative Russell Haswell, these include Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth, Chris Watson of 1970s/’80s electronic combo Cabaret Voltaire and Peter Zinovieff, composer and inventor who, in 1972, conceived the VCS3, the synthesiser popularised by the likes of Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd and David Bowie.
Jakob Polacsek/T-B A21 2010
Chris Sullivan spoke to Von Habsburg about this exquisite open-air installation…
I saw you standing on top of the Morning Line pavilion. It didn't look that safe to me…
Fact was that I had my Achilles tendon in a cast still from an accident I’d had a few weeks before. And getting up on top of the huge sculpture for all these photos and for CNN while still in the cast was a bit daunting. A small gust of wind can blow you off the top if you are not careful!
What inspired you to commission The Morning Line?
I was on a mission to create another pavilion after the success of the first in Seville. Pavilion comes from 'Papillon' – the French word for butterfly – and it means ‘a building with wings’. Artists have always used pavilions to explore new ideas and their functionality. In this case Matthew’s drawings became the structure and the structure became the pavilion, via the efforts of architects Aranda/Lasch. It went through so many mutations and changes, and the final step was the musical one.
How would you describe it?
I couldn't, because that would limit it. It’s work in progress, constantly in a state of flux and will never be a finished object as, every time we move it, it is reassembled in a different way. So it is constantly progressing. Every time we install it, we look at each other and say, “Now, that is interesting, it’s getting better all the time.”
Istanbul seems a perfect location for The Morning Line…
What better place to do this than the place where the sun first touches Europe? In Seville [in Spain, where TML was last situated], we chose a location near a monastery, surrounded by manicured gardens, a pond and total silence. This location is the exact opposite and it works even better. The best part of it all for me was seeing the 100,000 or so daily passers-by totally getting into it. That really blew my mind. I wonder if a sensitivity to Arab music may be the threshold of being more open-minded about contemporary compositions. Either way, I was happy not to be playing up to the musical and artistic elite of Istanbul. But this whole project took a huge leap of faith and we don’t have to simplify or explain the concept as it is there for all to see. I hate to compromise, and this was the opportunity not to do so, as The Major of Fatih [the area of Eminönü hosting TML] was extremely helpful.
'I get a real buzz out of making things happen, kicking down doors and facilitating new ideas' – Francesca Von Habsburg
Is this multimedia approach the future of art?
This is where the future of art lies – in the exploration of how these interdisciplinary projects can work. It is also less to do with collectors, who might become less important, and more to do with investigation.
What next?
We are talking to Bahrain about putting it there and they want to invite astronomers, physicists and scientists to a symposium to discuss all the elements of the universe that inspired Matthew to create The Morning Line. The next big music event to be aligned with the structure is Vienna next year and it is to be curated by Franz Pomassl [Viennese DJ and co-founder of the Austrian Laton experimental techno label] and will include work by a lot of central European composers from the Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia etc.
Weren’t you given an award by the city of Vienna?
It was the Golden Cross of The City of Vienna and the major for services to the arts gave it to me. It’s the highest accolade of its kind.
You are amazingly busy, but have no need to be. What drives you on?
I get a real buzz out of making things happen, kicking down doors and facilitating new ideas. I give all the artists complete freedom, and the challenge that The Morning Line inspires, and am proud that we are creating something really ‘new’ which is not only admirable but almost impossible these days. I will continue to push these boundaries and break new ground until the day I die.
And will you ever take a break?
Never!
The Morning Line is at Eminönü Square, Istanbul, Turkey until September 19, 2010, broadcasting sonic art from 9am until 9pm, in between prayers.
For more musical magic, click here
Jakob Polacsek / T-B A21 2010
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