Dia commissioned acclaimed Detroit-based techno DJ and producer Carl Craig to create a sound installation at Dia Beacon in dialogue with the unique architecture of the space. Party/After-Party (2020) marks his first commission for an art institution and culminates a five-year-long engagement with Dia. This work reimagines Dia Beacon’s lower level, creating a sonic environment that is anchored to the site’s manufacturing history as a former Nabisco packaging factory and recalling a techno tradition of reclaiming industrial spaces for radical experimentation. Deeply personal, the work accesses both the euphoria of the club environment and the loneliness that follows this collective experience.
On view at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA April 16–July 23, 2023.
Tracks:
A. Dub Board
B. Dub Room
C. Techno Board
D. Techno Room
Carl Craig’s Party/After-Party (2020) lives on past the sound installation at Dia Beacon in this two-disc vinyl set. Recorded live at the museum, the album includes four tracks of studio versions from the artist’s commission and live recordings from Dia Beacon that highlight the acoustics of the space. The LPs are supplemented by a sixteen-page booklet of liner notes with an introduction to the project by commission curator Kelly Kivland, a note on the work’s technical components and its unrepeatability by Randy Gibson, a consideration of the work in light of Black musical traditions and Detroit by DeForrest Brown Jr, and a reflection on the commission by Peter L’Official.
- Dia Beacon, 2022
- 180 gram black vinyl
- 2 LP Boxset with booklet
- 13 x 13 x 1 inches
