I Dormienti
Encyclopedia
I Dormienti is an ambient
installation
album from British
musician Brian Eno
, released in 1999. It is also the title of an art-book by Eno and Italian artist Mimmo Paladino
, released in 2000, packaged with a copy of the album and featuring pictures & sketches of the Roundhouse Installation.
The music on the album is taken from an Installation
—a show featuring music and visuals—that took place at the undercroft of the Roundhouse
, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London, from September 9th to October 6th, 1999.
The event featured the work of Italian painter, sculptor and set designer Mimmo Paladino
, who became established in the early 80's as one of the main exponents of the so-called Transavanguardia, a form of Neo-expressionism
and Lyrical Abstraction
. This was the second of his exhibitions; the first did not feature Eno's collaboration.
His exhibition was in the form of drawings and terracota sculptures - about 30 reclining figures with about 20 attendant crocodiles he called I Dormienti, "The Sleepers". The publicity notice said of it "In the centre of a labyrinth of tunnels, Paladino will create an installation of primordial life forms that will be accompanied by Eno's unique sound and light production".
Actually, Eno had nothing to do with the lighting; illumination was provided by the venue's dim emergency lights which imparted a pallor to the sculptures and drawings. The music came from well-concealed speakers and consisted mainly of a three-note Neroli-esque sequence, and electronic noise. In his recent Installations at Bonn
and Amsterdam
, stories spoken very slowly, one or two words at a time, were used in the performance, and here the method was developed further with treated, sampled voices speaking in syllables - an idea which would be used in his next album, Kite Stories
.
The material condensed onto the album in a single track consists of ten or so layers of the aforementioned syllables, speech excerpts, the standard Eno treated piano, and various drones and echoes.
It features a five-colour "pentachrome" printing-process, 250 gram card stock, silk screen printed cloth cover, protective sleeve, monochrome and colour photographs by Peppe Avallone of the Roundhouse exhibition, sketches by Paladino and Eno, a dialogue between the two artists, and the text is in Italian and English. 108 pages, 12 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches.
The CD is also included, with a different label to the album.
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
installation
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
album from British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musician Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
, released in 1999. It is also the title of an art-book by Eno and Italian artist Mimmo Paladino
Mimmo Paladino
Mimmo Paladino is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker.-Paintings and drawing:Mimmo Paladino was born Domenico Paladino in Paduli, Campania, southern Italy...
, released in 2000, packaged with a copy of the album and featuring pictures & sketches of the Roundhouse Installation.
Overview
An Opal release, with no catalogue number, this title is only available from EnoShop.The music on the album is taken from an Installation
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
—a show featuring music and visuals—that took place at the undercroft of the Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
, Chalk Farm Road, Camden, London, from September 9th to October 6th, 1999.
The event featured the work of Italian painter, sculptor and set designer Mimmo Paladino
Mimmo Paladino
Mimmo Paladino is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker.-Paintings and drawing:Mimmo Paladino was born Domenico Paladino in Paduli, Campania, southern Italy...
, who became established in the early 80's as one of the main exponents of the so-called Transavanguardia, a form of Neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism is a style of modern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s and dominated the art market until the mid-1980s...
and Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction is either of two related but distinctly separate trends in Post-war Modernist painting, and a third definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s...
. This was the second of his exhibitions; the first did not feature Eno's collaboration.
His exhibition was in the form of drawings and terracota sculptures - about 30 reclining figures with about 20 attendant crocodiles he called I Dormienti, "The Sleepers". The publicity notice said of it "In the centre of a labyrinth of tunnels, Paladino will create an installation of primordial life forms that will be accompanied by Eno's unique sound and light production".
Actually, Eno had nothing to do with the lighting; illumination was provided by the venue's dim emergency lights which imparted a pallor to the sculptures and drawings. The music came from well-concealed speakers and consisted mainly of a three-note Neroli-esque sequence, and electronic noise. In his recent Installations at Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, stories spoken very slowly, one or two words at a time, were used in the performance, and here the method was developed further with treated, sampled voices speaking in syllables - an idea which would be used in his next album, Kite Stories
Kite Stories
Kite Stories is an ambient installation album from British musician Brian Eno, released in 1999.-Overview:An Opal release, with no catalogue number, this title is only available from EnoShop....
.
The material condensed onto the album in a single track consists of ten or so layers of the aforementioned syllables, speech excerpts, the standard Eno treated piano, and various drones and echoes.
The book
The book was edited by Demetrio Paparoni and published by Alberico Cetti Serbelloni Editore of Milan, in 2000, ISBN 88-88098-00-3. Two editions were printed:- A presentation-boxed luxury edition of a print-run of 2000.
- A 100-copy special edition accompanied by an aquatint etching with drypoint and presented in a fired terracotta case, both designed by Paladino.
It features a five-colour "pentachrome" printing-process, 250 gram card stock, silk screen printed cloth cover, protective sleeve, monochrome and colour photographs by Peppe Avallone of the Roundhouse exhibition, sketches by Paladino and Eno, a dialogue between the two artists, and the text is in Italian and English. 108 pages, 12 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches.
The CD is also included, with a different label to the album.
External links
- Three I Dormienti sculptures by Mimmo PaladinoMimmo PaladinoMimmo Paladino is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker.-Paintings and drawing:Mimmo Paladino was born Domenico Paladino in Paduli, Campania, southern Italy...
.... 1 , 2 , 3 - Collage
- Hyperreal Eno bibliography
- Information about Mimmo PaladinoMimmo PaladinoMimmo Paladino is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker.-Paintings and drawing:Mimmo Paladino was born Domenico Paladino in Paduli, Campania, southern Italy...
.... 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - Beep discography entry
- Discogs.com entry
- James Putnam Roundhouse review
- Roundhouse homepage
