three elephant’s days: Nicolas party, serge vuille

Installed in Summer 2013 on the forecourt of the Bonner Kunstverein, Nicolas Partys (*1980, lives in Brussels) sculpture in the form of a table will be the centre a final performance in three parts. The table, covered with colorful almond-shaped patterns, measures 6-meters in diameter and is surrounded with 28 stools, which are each provided with the design of an elephant. Elephants are examples of family and a sense of community, refer to the function of the Kunstverein to cultivate an “art community”. In addition, the sculpture functions as a place of sojourn or a stage due to ist unusual size. Concluding the one year long installation of the work Party, together with the musician Serge Vuille (*1983, lives in London), designed a multi-part series of performances in which visual art, performance and music are led together to explore the diverse functions of the table in a playful manner. Through the participation of children, musicians and other guests, this musical-performative Festival links both the social and artistic  aspects oft he sculpture. Party recently exhibited at the Swiss Institute New York in 2012 and at the Folkwang Museum Essen in 2013. Vuille teaches at the Royal College of Music, London, and performs regularly (among others) with the BBC Orchestra, London, or the Collegium Novum Zurich. As an experimental musician he plays with the Baroque Timpani in Orchestra of Enlightenment and Music or in the band of the artist Martin Creed. Vuille composed mainly music for specific occasions and places.

Thursday, August 21, 2014 19:00
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Concert In C by Terry Riley headed by Serge Vuille 1964 Terry Riley composed the piece „In C“, which is one of the first pieces of minimal music. Unlike a classical orchestra any number of non-specific musicians is provided here. The score consists of 53 simple phrases that are independently started and repeated by the musicians. The result is a structure, a community consisting of individuals who listen to each other and have to react. „In C“ is therefore not only an important work of recent music history, but can also refer to the work of Nicolas Party. His table is used as a concert venue. Various musicians, including vocalists, strings, winds will perform the piece.

The musicians are professionals, music students and lay people from Bonn and the surrounding area. They form an ensemble that thrives on the enthusiasm for new music and especially the joy of making music.

Friday, August 22, 2014
DINNER FOR 28 ELEPHANTS
Meeting between the Kunstvereine Bonn and Cologne With a dinner many levels of social interaction can be addressed from any motivation. Nicolas Party will serve 28 invited guests of the Kunstvereine from Bonn and Cologne plates, decorated with edible elements. Serge Vuille accompanies the dinner with his especially for the occasion composed piece „Boléro en Do“from the middle of the table. This is a self-interpretation of the piece „Bolero“ (1928) by Maurice Ravel. Based on the understanding of music, which is raised in Terry Riley’s „In C“, Vuille reaches an unusual link, a new creation, which is characterized by deconstruction and reaction.

Saturday, August 23, 2014
BABY GREENS MAKE MUSIC
Children’s program with Nicolas Party and Serge Vuille Curiosity, openness and imagination are distinct in children.

When they begin to discover and understand music, it adds even more to those characteristics. Schoolchildren of Nordschule Bonn tinker together with Nicolas Party and Serge Vuille to create musical instruments out of vegetables and thus perform sonic experiments.