Skip to main content
Ghost (I don't live today)
Ghost (I don't live today)
© Christian Marclay. Still courtesy of Paula Cooper Gallery, New York.
Copyright Christian Marclay. Courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery.

Ghost (I don't live today)

Artist (Born in San Rafael, CA, 1955)
Date1985
MediumVideo (color, sound)
DimensionsRunning time: 5:00 minutes
ClassificationsVideo
Credit LineGift of Christian Marclay and Paula Cooper
Object number2009.7.3
Collections
  • ART OF THE UNITED STATES
  • MODERN & CONTEMPORARY
EditionUnlimited edition
Label TextIn this perfomance Christian Marclay straps a turntable with the Jimi Hendrix album Are You Experienced onto his body, spinning the record. The artist channels the legendary rock guitarist by recreating Hendrix's body movements in the way he plays the LP, also creating moments of audio feedback the way Hendrix often did with his electric guitar. Marclay's performance also draws on Laurie Anderson's innovative use of turntable technology in her Viophonograph, featured in this exhibition.

Marclay's work is almost spiritual, conjuring the sound and image of the guitarist and imitating the movements of Hendrix, who died 15 years before Marclay performed this piece. Marclay encourages us to think about archival footage - both sound and images - as granting access to a moment that has long passed. The record - both historical and vinyl - becomes an imperfect reproduction. It cannot recreate an exact replica, but echoes what once was and produces something new.