Marie J. Jean

In the last century, the invention of the motion picture camera ushered in a succession of diverse technological developments conducive to the synthesis of sound and images. Devices that combined projected images with music, such as colour organs, the optical theatre and the Sonchromatoscope, were among early examples. But it was through cinema, once it became possible to synchronize music with moving pictures, that this field of experimentation would be radically renewed. This exhibition provides opportunities to observe changes in that audiovisual production through cinematic and musical works in which a relative tension between image and music is exerted—for most often, the relationship between the two is one of subordination: either the visual production relegates the musical component to a secondary role, or the pictures serve to illustrate a musical composition.

The aim of this exhibition is to provide a spatial and musical experience of these works produced over a span of a hundred years, while prompting audiences to reflect on this process of visualization of music and musicalization of images. Contemporary artists are featured alongside film makers of the avant-garde in a circuit including silent films with added sound, abstract and experimental cinema, music videos, as well as musical performances. A series of animation films complements the program, designed especially for children.

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