Christian Marclay and Steve Beresford: Call and Response

When the world shut down in the spring of 2020, artist Christian Marclay began photographing the emptied London streets, finding a quiet both haunting and peaceful. He sent these photos to his friend, composer Steve Beresford, asking "How would this sound on the piano?" Beresford would then respond with a recording. This book collects the dialogue between Marclay and Beresford, serving as a testament to how the world at large can be not only reflected in image but translated into sound.Known for his ability to locate music and sound in the most unexpected contexts, artist Christian Marclay began photographing the emptied London streets when the world shut down in the spring of 2020. He found the quiet – the absence of all the city sounds – both haunting and peaceful. On his daily walks, he began to imagine that there might be music in the landscape. He snapped a photo of an iron gate adorned with decorative white balls as it reminded him of a musical score. He sent it to his friend, the composer Steve Beresford, and asked: “How would this sound on the piano?” Beresford responded a few hours later with a recording. Over the course of the spring, he took more photographs which inspired more music.This book collects the dialogue between Marclay and Beresford, which could only take place virtually during lockdown. In his introduction, Marclay writes, "I realised that all my pictures were of enclosures: gates, fences, windows, closed stores. A view of the world behind barriers." The correspondence between image, sound and its notation breaks through those barriers, expanding space in magical ways. This title is a testament to how the world at large can be not only reflected in image but translated into sound.
ISBN 9781938221309. Siglio. hb. 48 pages. 40 colour ills. 25 x 18 cm.
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