| | | | Magritte & Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images Author: Antenna Audio and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Format: Audio Download
Audio Length: 38 min.
Rating: Not rated Price: $15.00 
Publisher's Summary: Antenna Audio presents the downloadable audio tour for Magritte & Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images, a special exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) that explores the impact of Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte's (1898?1967) works on U.S. and European artists of the post-war generation.Narrated by award-winning actor Pierce Brosnan, the 45-minute audio tour provides context and commentary on 28 works of art on display in the exhibition, ranging from Magritte to several contemporary artists who were inspired or affected by his work. The tour goes beyond simply explaining the works on view, drawing the visitor into a seamless dialogue with the artists themselves. Commentaries from Jim Shaw, Jeff Koons, Richard Artschwager, Ed Ruscha, and exhibition designer John Baldessari reveal how Magritte's visual vocabulary and artistic strategies have seeped into their work and our culture as a whole. The conversations with Baldessari are especially insightful as he explains his unique exhibition design: "All the things I've done, in terms of design, have been things that I think Magritte would have applauded. He might have done them himself." As narrator of the tour, Brosnan provides a constant reminder of the different and sometimes unconscious ways that pop, conceptual, and post-modern sensibilities have referenced Magritte's ideas and imagery. Brosnan was selected because of his memorable performance in the 1999 movie The Thomas Crown Affair, in which several scenes are inspired by Magritte's work, including the closing sequence in which Brosnan's character employs a multitude of men in bowler hats to disguise an elaborate stunt. The audio tour can be enjoyed equally at home or while strolling through the exhibition, which will be on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from November 19, 2006, through March 4, 2007. |
