John Cale (above) stars in Museums at Night at The National Gallery
Journalists attempting to fathom the ever-increasing viciousness with which Lou Reed appears to dispatch interviewers might point to his fallout with John Cale as an early indicator of his divisive temperament.
Cale left the Velvet Underground in 1968 as a result of "creative differences" with Reed but, more than 40 years later, his trajectory since makes him a perfect host for this exclusive discussion of the intertwining between music and art as part of Museums at Night 2009.
The Gallery will enjoy a twilight opening
Aside from his artistic grounding at Goldsmiths College in the early 1960s (he met Reed in America in 1965), Cale has played with and produced for everyone from The Stooges and Patti Smith to Nico, Nick Drake and Andy Warhol, the former Velvet Underground manager whose death caused a temporary musical reunion between Cale and Reed in the early 1990s before those predictable old tensions resurfaced.
This year he's representing Wales at the Venice Biennale, putting inspiration gleaned from the likes of Dylan Thomas and Oscar Wilde to use in artwork based around the Welsh language.
Cale is representing Wales in Venice this year
He'll be offering insights into his plans for Venice as part of a conversation with the Gallery’s Head of Education, Colin Wiggins, and the institution has cunningly timed his appearance to coincide with their current Pablo Picasso exhibition (Cale produced and covered a Jonathan Richman song named after the iconic artist), which will be open past the witching hour as part of their Museums at Night celebrations.
Pablo Picasso, Man with a Straw Hat and an Ice Cream Cone (1938). Picture courtesy Musée Picasso, Paris, &169; RMN / Jean-Gilles Berizzi / Succession Picasso / DACS 2008
Such has been the success of the NG's retrospective, Challenging the Past, it only seems right to base their plans around the show, and Henri-George Clouzot's Le Mystère Picasso – a documentary recording Picasso – will also be screened. Other events include live music, a bar in the Sainsbury Wing Foyer, guided tours of the collection and talks. Even Reed might approve.
Full programme:
May 15 2009:
6pm – 12am
Picasso Late – live music and tours of Challenging The Past
6pm – 7pm
Live music: Belle Shenkman Music Programme, Room 18
6.20pm – 8pm
Bite-size talks – short talks on the big questions of art history in 10 minutes or less
6.45pm – 8.15pm
Wine, Nibbles and Talk – The Spectacle of Looking: Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando, Viyki Turnbull, Sainsbury Wing Conference Room 1. Admission £18, advance booking advised, visit The National Gallery online to book.
7-8pm
Guided tour – 60-minute taster tour of the collection, Sainsbury Wing Information Desk
7.30pm
Film – Le Mystère Picasso (The Mystery of Picasso) (1956), 78 mins.
10pm
In Conversation – John Cale and Colin Wiggins, Sainsbury Wing Theatre. Admission free, places available on first-come, first-served basis.
