Velvet Underground's John Cale at Venice Biennale

05.06.2009

John Cale the memorable Velvet Underground's violinist will represent Welsh at this year's Venice Biennale. The Welsh Pavilion will host Cale audio-visual installation Dyddiau Du/Dark Days, a methaphor of his own return to his origin, to his home. The musician commissioned by Bruce Haines curator of the Welsh Pavilion, will bring to Venice all his Welshness as visual artist, after all his career in New York.

Cale left his hometown Gernant, for New York when he won Tanglewood music scholarship, at that time he was playing viola with the Welsh Youth Orchestra.

His career pick was around 1963 when he performed Erik Satie's Vexations, in an 8 hours piano marathon organized by John Cage. He played with La Monte Orchestra experimenting the "drone," before joining Velvet Underground and meeting Andy Warhol and the Factory. Until 1966, when Reed sacked Warhol and Cale pursuing his own success, pushed by Bob Dylan's manager.

After his solo career Cale as musician, he created this amazing video supported by an extraordinary sound colonna sonora recalling all his lengancy to his own country.