Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967

Slater Bradley
The Year of the Doppelganger, 2004
Courtesy of the artist and Team Gallery

Organized by Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, Sympathy for the Devil examines the history of the relationship between avant-garde art and rock music over the past 40 years. From Andy Warhol’s legendary involvement with The Velvet Underground in New York, to its London equivalent with Peter Blake, Richard Hamilton and The Beatles, and culminating in new works by artists such as Douglas Gordon, Jim Lambie, Robert Longo, Christian Marclay, Jason Rhoades, Pipilotti Rist, and Rirkrit Tiravanije, Sympathy for the Devil is the most comprehensive presentation of work arising from the intersection of these two cultural entities. The exhibition is comprised of over 100 works (installations, sculptures, paintings, drawings, videos) created by 60 artists and groups, subdivided into six themes corresponding to the musical scenes in New York, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, the American West Coast (particularly Los Angeles), the Midwest and the rest of the world (more specifically Brazil, Mexico, Japan and Thailand).

The title, borrowed from the eponymous Rolling Stones song and Jean-Luc Godard’s film One One/Sympathy for the Devil, is emblematic of this exchange between the two cultural forms.

Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 was organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

Support for this exhibition is generously provided by Cari and Michael Sacks. Additional support is provided by Sara Albrecht, Marilyn and Larry Fields, Brian Herbstritt, Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg, Nancy and David Frej, Adrienne and Stan Green, Dana and Andy Hirt, Sylvie Légère and Todd Ricketts, the Orbit Fund, Curt and Jennifer Conklin, Sam Schwartz, and Debra and Dennis Scholl.