UPDATE: The Ship's run at the Moore Building has been canceled.
Ahead of III Points this weekend, organizers have announced the arrival of Brian Eno's The Ship, in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA).
A well-heeled producer and recording artist in his own right, Eno has enjoyed a long career mixing art-world influences with pop music. Apart from starting his own band, Roxy Music, in the late '70s, Eno has produced albums for the Talking Heads' David Byrne, Grace Jones, Devo, U2, Coldplay, and others. Yet his commercial success belies an art-school background where he studied painting and experimental music.
"As a founding figure of the ambient and experimental music scene, III Points' collaboration with Brian Eno was a fantastic opportunity to bring a renowned musician's project to Miami for the first time," ICA associate director Tommy Ralph Pace says.
The Ship fuses Eno's passion for ambient sounds and immersive installations in one sonic sculpture. Mixing audio sources with lights and adornments, the installation envelops the spectator in a wash of aural signals and corresponding visual references. First installed in Sweden in 2015, the work paired the gentle glow of electric candles with monolithic speakers for an effect that was both understated and imposing. The designs vary per location, making for a site-specific spectacle in each incarnation of the work. For the ICA, the piece is just the latest in a long line of collaborations with the music world.
"From Kendrick Lamar to Kim Gordon, as well as local Miami musicians like Poorgrrl and the Jacuzzi Boys, exposing contemporary-art enthusiasts to new music, or music audiences to new art practices, has been a win-win for the museum and our mission of promoting the exchange of art and ideas," Pace says.
It's not only cross-promotion but also audience-building. As the ICA puts the finishing touches on its new building, museum curators are looking for ways to make their programming stand out from the pack of local contemporary-art institutions. With PĂ©rez Art Museum Miami running on all cylinders and the Bass set to reopen October 29 after a two-year remodel, the jostle for the spotlight will be fierce.
The ICA is already partnering with the Design District in a sculpture program to extend the museum's curation beyond its walls to its neighborhood's streets, intersections, and plazas. Along with new and innovative programming that engages seasonal and local audiences, the ICA speaks to the amorphous state of contemporary art. Artists from various disciplines are conversing and collaborating with one another more than ever. It's up to the museums to decide how they will present those artists' increasingly complex work.
The Ship. An installation by Brian Eno. At III Points Friday, October 13, through Sunday, October 15, at Mana Wynwood, 318 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-573-0371; manawynwood.com. Tickets cost $125 to $345 via iiipoints.com.