John Cale’s Dark Days Travels Down Under
Posted: 12.01.10 John Cale’s 5 screen installation Dark Days moves from representing Wales at the 53rd Venice Biennale to the southern hemisphere as part of the Mona Foma Festival in January 2010. The city wide event in Hobart, Tasmania, brings together contemporary music and art with John Cale also performing with as the artist in residence. The festival program includes musicians such as rap pioneer Grand Master Flash and renown international visual artists such as Christian Boltanski.  | Dark Days will be a stand alone installation at the Salamanca Arts centre who have recreated a new self contained space 27m long x 6m wide within the building which will recreate the presence of the Ex-Bierria Venue of the Giudecca in Venice. |
Cale’s vision was to allow the audience to physically experience the work in the same way as at the Venice Biennale. Arts Council of Wales was impressed by Mona Foma’s scale of ambition for the festival and excited by the opportunity to show the work in this appreciative context. Mona Foma’s curator Brian Ritchie of the Violet Femmes said:
“We have been determined from the outset to create a festival that transcends boundaries and defies logic. Truly melding art and music in a sensory exploration that becomes at once disorienting and comforting.”
Mona Foma is Tasmania’s biggest contemporary music festival. Curated by Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes, the festival uses music and art to engage the new. The art presented is drawn from the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) collection and beyond. Centred in and around Salamanca Arts Centre and MONA’s home at the Moorilla vineyard, Mona Foma has grown into a city wide event spilling into other parts of Hobart from the Republic Bar to St. David’s Cathedral. Mona Foma 2010 runs from 8th to 24th January. For further information visit http://mofo.net.au/ Richard Higlett, International Visual Arts Officer for Wales Arts International said:
"We are delighted that Dark Days is being exhibited in Tasmania. While filmed entirely on location in Wales, Dark Days looks at back on Cale's life through his relationships to physical places that people from all parts of the world will empathise with. It is a work of global significance made in Wales." This is the first in a series of events, festivals and exhibitions in Wales and internationally presenting Dark Days over the next 18 months. John Cale (born March 9, 1942) is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his work in rock music, but has worked in a variety of styles over the years. Cale was born in Garnant in the heavily industrial Amman Valley, and Welsh is his first language. Having discovered a talent for piano, he studied music at the University of London, and travelled to the USA to continue his musical training, thanks to the help and influence of Aaron Copland. A founding member of the Velvet Underground, Cale is a profile musician, film composer and producer of numerous albums. Working with the New York Fluxus group in the mid-1960’s, Cale returned to working in what could be perceived as a primarily visual arts arena with his installation Dyddiau Du/Dark Days at the Venice Biennale in 2009. Cale career has been one of continuous experimentation, shifting between numerous artforms and avoiding an exact definition for his creative practice.
Dark Days was commissioned by the Arts Council of Wales to represent Wales at the 53rd Venice Biennale 7th June 2009 to 22nd November 2009. It was Curated by Bruce Haines. The Commissioner for Wales at Venice is Mari Beynon Owen. For further information:
w: www.walesvenicebiennale.org
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