© Christian Marclay

The relationship between sound and image is central to Christian Marclay’s work. Video Quartet (2002) is composed of hundreds of film clips, edited together to create a mesmerising symphony of sound and vision.

Marclay has carefully selected and synchronised the clips in Video Quartet, retaining their original music in order to develop a singular musical score. The video begins with extracts of orchestras tuning up and builds into a crescendo and a cacophony of sound before slowing to a passage of calm. Numerous film-star moments seem to represent the breadth of recent movie history. Many of the clips appear to be selected for their musical content, and show instances in a film when music moves beyond the background score and becomes integral to the story. At other times the noises we hear are likely to have been produced as sound effects and appear to be made by objects such as telephones ringing or doors slamming.

Since 1979 Marclay has made artworks that reflect his fascination with music. Developing his own forms of audio-visual sampling, he has made sculptures, conceptual works and videos. His works often incorporate familiar found materials, from record covers to film clips, which he meticulously pieces together.

Christian Marclay was born in 1955 in California. He lives and works in New York.

Curated by Ann Coxon