Silence is no longer golden in the art world.  In fact something very noisy is going on down on South Bank.  The Tate Modern has commissioned British music acts to record tracks in celebration of their favourite works of art.  This is an exciting project as it establishes the connection between art and music and challenges the staid silence of many galleries.  They have approached a diverse range of musicians from former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon to hip-hop star Estelle to contribute to the project.

Opening this month Manchester electro-dance act the Chemical Brothers have written ‘The Rock Drill’ in celebration of ‘Torso in Metal.’  The Jacob Epstein piece shows a man turning himself into a machine.  Quoted in The Independent the duo said ‘we chose to write music for The Rock Drill as it seemed so dynamic, powerful and modern. We could imagine music as soon as we saw it.’ 

Graham Coxon, a former art student, has chosen Franz Kline’s Sixties picture ‘Meryon’ as the focus of his piece, and Estelle has contributed ‘Common Sense’ as her interpretation of Martin Parr’s work of the same name.  The project runs through till April with a different art piece and musician’s track every month. 

The Tate Modern is on the South Bank of the River Thames opposite St. Paul’s.  The nearest tubes are Southwark (Jubilee Line) and Blackfriars (District & Circle Lines).  For more information go to the Tate Modern website.