The humble turntable has endured in dance culture, long after being dethroned as the industry standard for DJs working the dancefloor. While CDJs, USB sticks and laptops might now reign supreme, the news this week that DJ Shadow was offloading his private collection was enough to stir fevered excitement, while otherwise the novelty demand for digital , vertical , wall clock and even accessorized jewelry turntables suggests this fetish isn’t going away anytime soon.
This month, a special exhibition at the SVA Chelsea Gallery in New York will explore exactly why the turntable’s legacy has endured. The Beat Goes On seeks to examine how the turntable has functioned as a creatively inspiring junction between music and art, and will feature the work of four contemporary artists who will present in their own individual listening rooms.
The show’s curator, visual artist Derrick Adams , says his mission was to “celebrate the cross section of contemporary culture where visual arts meet and merge with music.”
Each artist will look at the cultural significance of the turntable in a different way, exploring its relation to the “cultural hubs and the alternative languages it forms [with] current technologies, counterculture happenings, experimentation, the avant-garde and the mainstream.”
We reckon it sounds pretty damn cool. You can catch The Beat Goes On at SVA Chelsea Gallery until Saturday, September 17, with more info available on the gallery website .
