It was originally intended that laughter would be heard in Aldo van Eyck’s pavilion for the 1968 Triennale. However, student protests ensured that the Triennale closed before it even opened, and no one heard this sound. BMB con., a sound and performance collective led by Justin Bennett and Roelf Toxopeus, replaces the original soundtrack with socially engaged Italian composer Luigi Nono’s composition Non-consumiamo Marx (1969).

Nono wrote the libretto for his composition by using sound he recorded as a participant in the student protests at the opening of the 1968 Venice Biennale, as well as a poem by Cesare Pavese, and slogans from the student revolt in Paris. Nono’s composition is gradually buried in the sound of falling sand until only noise remains in Ad Aldo van Eyck, architetto. Siamo dalla stessa parte? (To Aldo van Eyck, architect. Are you on our side?).

The entire composition of Luigi Nono can be heard through headphones.

Duration of audio: 17 minutes