David Byrne, Iggy Pop participate in Maurizio Cattelan’s new art project

The Italian conceptual artist has launched a new audio series, “Bedtime Stories,” whose first installment was released on June 14 on the website and social media channels of the New Museum.

For “Bedtime Stories,” Maurizio Cattelan has invited numerous musicians and contemporary artists to read a selection from their favorite text of their choice, as a way of staying together during these days of isolation.

Contributors include David Byrne, Takashi Murakami, Elizabeth Peyton, Jeff Koons, Camille Henrot, Raymond Pettibon and Maya Lin, with a new segment of “Bedtime Stories” posted each day through the end of June.

Some of them chose to read existing books from their personal libraries, while others decided to write material of their own.

In the debut installment of “Bedtime Stories,” Iggy Pop shares his memories of his dog by reading a love letter he wrote for the deceased pet.

“The first time I saw you, standing there on the other side of the divided highway, smelling the meat coming out of the meat locker at the mini-mart, I knew you were the dog for me,” the Godfather of punk is heard saying in the recording.

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As part of its series of new digital initiatives, we're excited to announce “Bedtime Stories,” a project initiated by Maurizio Cattelan. Inviting friends and other artists and performers he admires to keep us company, Cattelan imagined “Bedtime Stories” as a way of staying together during these days of isolation. Each participant has been asked to read a selection from their favorite book – a sentence, passage, chapter, or more – to be shared with the New Museum’s online audiences. Some chose to read existing works, others to read their own writings, still others to create impromptu performances. Whether drawn from memory, imagination, or cherished volumes kept close at hand, the recordings by artists were captured quickly in an unfiltered fashion on phones or laptops in their homes or studios around the world. A new installment of “Bedtime Stories” will be made available each day through the end of June on our IGTV channel and at the link in our bio. First up, we have a bedtime story from Iggy Pop. @iggypopofficial @lomavistarecordings

A post shared by New Museum (@newmuseum) on May 14, 2020 at 10:10am PDT

The audio segments were captured in an unfiltered fashion by participating artists, who used their phones or laptops to record their unconventional bedtime stories in their respective homes or studios around the world.

Additional installments of “Bedtime Stories” will find Rashid Johnson reciting an excerpt from “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” by Amiri Baraka, while David Byrne will read from “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti” by the social psychologist Milton Rokeach.

“I thought of this project really not as an artwork but simply as a way of being together with others in a moment of isolation,” Cattelan told the New York Times of his latest artistic endeavor, adding that “sometimes it’s worth showing less and listening more.” CL /ra

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