Cut paper art has an immense history, going back as far as the 6th century in China and the 16th century in the West, yet despite its long existence stylistic developments have been rare. Even today, most papercutting tends to fall into two dusty categories: geometric decoration and bland narrative.
As an artist whose work explores, in myriad mediums, an interest in “how sound is visualized,” Christian Marclay now seems newly compelled by how sound can be eulogized. For his current show at Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea, Marclay has created a group of large cyanotypes that act as gravestone etchings of popular music’s essentially moribund medium: the cassette tape.