Luis (born 1937 in Lübeck) and Gabo (born 1984 in Sweden) Camnitzer are father and son, both living and working in New York.

Gabo Camnitzer is an artist and educator. His work combines experimental pedagogy, installations, sculptures, videos, drawings and forms of participatory and collaborative interventions. The focus is on new ways of education and the exchange of knowledge as well as questions of childhood, subject formation and socialisation.

More about Gabo and Luis

Gabo Camnitzer has developed the performance and education project ‘The International Anthem’. The starting point is a composition comprising fragments of one bar each, taken from the national anthems of the UN member states. These short sound sequences were transcribed into a single score and arranged in alphabetical order, country by country.

The number of anthems (the UN has 193 members), the multitude of chords and the constant change from one bar to the next make the score complex and the harmony relative. Since it is impossible to play correctly, the musicians still have to play together and accept wrong notes, too. This masterpiece reminds us of our relationship with others, the living, the human and the non-human. Whether it is about reconnecting with planet Earth or taking specific action in the field of legislation to preserve it, such as protecting the sea-bed, and despite different political and economic sensitivities, we have no alternative but to play together.