MoMA, the Guggenheim, the Met; obvious choices for a day perusing iconic New York art, leaving the Brooklyn Museum to fly under the radar on the cultural to-do list. Cellist and composer Niles Luther, however, makes a case for the museum as the city’s new artistic epicentre.
Redefining what an exhibition can be by exploring the intersection of art and music, the Brooklyn Museum has recently appointed Luther as its first composer in residence. Having played for the likes of Jon Batiste and Solange Knowles, and on the score for Oscar-nominated movie Mudbound, he borrows from classical music tradition to create wholly contemporary work – what is dubbed “art music”.
Kicking off his residency with three complementary arrangements for Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo (feat. Takashi Murakami), Lutherwill spearhead Brooklyn Museum’s cultural roster with a series of musical scores inspired by its collections. A project that serves to broaden minds via sound, not just sight, artistic encounters will be transformed into immersive experiences for all museumgoers. Here Luther explains why the museum is well worth crossing the bridge for.
What I love most about the Brooklyn Museum is the people. I love that it’s known for its incredible community. I love that it has positioned itself as the people’s museum, the place where doors are open for anyone to come and observe its collection, have a unique experience, and share opinions. I love that it’s a locus for creative engagement in Brooklyn and beyond. More specifically to me, I love that it has offered itself as the awning under which interdisciplinary engagement and innovation can take place. Brooklyn Museum is the location wherein I have the honour of pioneering the genre of music I am most interested in.
In my new role inaugurating the composer in residence position at the Brooklyn Museum, I’m incredibly excited to create art music – music directly inspired and responding to art and art objects – at an institution that has the resources to support large-scale creative endeavours. Having access to curators who are experts in their field, with expertise on the artwork, really serves as the fundamental bedrock upon which I can write my compositions and build installations. I am excited that the resulting music will be shared with the public in a way they will likely have never experienced before, offering a new perspective on art viewing.
My favourite exhibition at the museum was the first one I ever saw: Kehinde Wiley’s retrospective opening A New Republic in 2015. I, in fact, performed at the opening. I was 17 at the time and was totally in awe, having grown up in the relatively sheltered and homogenous town of Fairfield, Connecticut, which was almost completely lacking in cultural and ethnic diversity. There were so many incredible people at that opening, people from all walks of life and backgrounds. I remember thinking to myself that I want to spend the rest of my life in environments such as this, making beautiful music, surrounded by beautiful art, with beautiful people. That dream, as a 17-year-old boy, is now a reality, and every day I am filled with gratitude that I get to do exactly that.
My ideal day at the museum is in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. There are cherry trees directly in front of the museum, as well as in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is right next door. Visiting the museum in the morning, peacefully strolling through any of the incredible exhibits that are on view, grabbing lunch at Cheryl’s Global Soul down the street, and ending the day in the garden in the late afternoon, to me, is the ideal day.
My secret top tip for people visiting the Brooklyn Museum is that the parties are top tier. Not to imply that the focus is more on parties than the art, but that there are some incredible events here: from openings and first Saturdays to general programming. It’s a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by world-class art, meeting the kinds of individuals who have the creative acumen, talent, and interest in creating and supporting this kind of art in the first place. I personally haven’t been to events at other museums or galleries – in the US or globally – that compare.
