Is Art Better With Music?

This weekend marked the return of MoMA PS1’s summer bumpin’ Warm Up concert series. It’s pretty much a gay ol’ time made up of experimental music and contemporary art. This year’s Warm Up launches with a prickly installation of cerulean-hue entitled “Wendy,” as well as a line-up of lusty performances by Trust, Nguzunguzu, and Light Asylum.

Light Asylum, above, and Nguzunguzu, below, putting on killer sets.

Most people show up for the party, some strictly for the art, but everyone’s pretty much in full Bacchanalian mode. With museum concerts being all the rage these days, a question that’s been on my mind lately is “Is art better with music?” So what better place than the Warm Up kick-off to get art-belching revelers to weigh in on the matter?

Shannon (of Light Asylum)

I actually performed in a sculptural performance piece at the MoMA PS1 winter Warm Up under the group name of Yemenwed. So yeah, I guess music sounds better with art.

Anthony

Art is so much better with music. The art I do revolves around media, so if you lay music over film—film being art, in this case—it’s a little more touching; it affects you a little more.

Ceci (of CRUX)

Music can sometimes be a pollution to art or obstruct art if it’s in a space that doesn’t really make sense. It’s the same with people. I feel like even with too many people in the museum, you can’t really see the art as it’s meant to be. Too much talking and the filtering of people in and out can be distracting.

Betsy

Yeah, I think art is better with music. I feel like art has some kind of rhythm and music is a form of rhythm, so the two of them together and create an energy.

Tatiana

I’m not sure, but music definitely allows you to remember the art better.

Destiny

Art imitates life, and what’s more lively than noise?
 

Richard

Not all art needs music, but there should be more art in audio. I’m interested in where sound meets the image and what they do to each other. Audio makes art more accessible, too. Sometimes, people who look at art don’t get it or are intimidated by it, but when you hear something you like or don’t like, it’s more instinctual, and you decipher it without thinking. Really, the party just takes the edge off the seriousness of art.

Jess

I would say definitely. Music is art, and when the two are combined, they interact with each other, and kind of make experiencing both at the same time more powerful. I think the sounds coming from the show may distract from the art, but it also amps it up and makes the museum more fun and interactive.

Maia

There are cases when art and music work really well. For example, in the Brancusi Museum in Paris, it was encouraged to look at sculptures while jazz was being played. With the “Wendy” installation facing the artists on stage, it’s a great way to combine fun, music, and aesthetic.

Daniel

Music is not necessarily better with art, but I think it helps it. Music is very 2D, and if you incorporate art, then the music becomes 3D, so you’re not just listening; you’re now also seeing. It incorporates different senses. So, I guess, it’s better. This is my first show at a museum.

@museumbabes

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