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Record Players
Record Players
© Christian Marclay. Still courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.

Record Players

Artist (Born in San Rafael, CA, 1955)
Date1982
MediumVideo (color, sound)
Dimensionsrunning time: 5:00 minutes
ClassificationsVideo
Credit LineGift of Christian Marclay and Paula Cooper
Object number2009.7.2
Collections
  • ART OF THE UNITED STATES
  • MODERN & CONTEMPORARY
EditionUnlimited edition
Label TextIn his early performance work, Christian Marclay substitutes humans for turntables to play, and play with, an array of records. The group begins slowly, scratching and shaking the records, filling the room with a warbling noise. The tempo increases as they explore the modes of sound production, rubbing together records, grinding them and clapping them against one another. As the potentials unfold, the intensity escalates until the record players snap, smash, and crush their instruments in a broken sea of vinyl.