Marco Brambilla Debuts New Commissioned Video Work for U2 at the MSG Sphere
Over the weekend, U2’s residency at the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas debuted. For the unique setting, the artist Marco Brambilla was commissioned by the band to create a video installation inspired by Elvis Presley and the birth of Las Vegas. Through December 16, U2’s residency includes multiple performances a month, where audience members will experience an immersive-style concert highlighting songs from the band’s hit album Achtung Baby and other favorites, which are each accompanied by a specially conceived show of lights, visuals, and artwork—like that commissioned of Brambilla.
Marco Brambilla, “KING SIZE,” 16K video installation, courtesy of Marco Brambilla Studio/Michael Fuchs Galerie.
KING SIZE is an Ode to Elvis Presley in Las Vegas
During the band’s performance of Even Better than the Real Thing, audience members inside the sphere-shaped venue are taken on a journey through Marco Brambilla’s awe-inspiring, illusory visuals, making up the video collage titled KING SIZE. An ode to the King of Rock and Roll, the immersive video features clips of Presley’s life and performances, formatted with Brambilla’s trademark style, embedded in a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic display that rolls in constant motion behind the members of the band on the dome of MSG Sphere. Parallel to this narrative celebrating the American icon is a look at the birth of Las Vegas as a capital of hedonism and extravagance and the toll the American consumerism-entertainment complex took on some of the greatest performers from our country’s history, Mr. Presley in particular.
Marco Brambilla is Known for Works Like Heaven’s Gate
Renowned for complex motifs and video compositions that recontextualize existing imagery from pop culture, viewers might recognize Brambilla’s practice from the video composition Heaven’s Gate. Currently scheduled to make touring stops at Centquatre-Paris and the Kunsthalle Vogelmann in Denmark, the video bears a similar format and to KING SIZE, presenting a labyrinthian loop of collaged elements from recognizable Hollywood films, organized to ascend through the seven levels of purgatory.
Marco Brambilla, “KING SIZE,” 16K video installation, courtesy of Marco Brambilla Studio/Michael Fuchs Galerie.
Marco Brambilla, “KING SIZE,” 16K video installation, courtesy of Marco Brambilla Studio/Michael Fuchs Galerie.
