The NEG, designed by Vincenzo Agnetti in 1970 and constructed in collaboration with Brionvega, was used for a single piece of artwork (Vobulation and Bieloquenza NEG, 1970, with Gianni Colombo) before it went missing. 2019 saw the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive reconstructing the NEG, in association with Recipient.cc, adhering to the original patent and components of the era. Agnetti saw the NEG as an interpreter of silence, a machine that could generate art autonomously. As such, the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive sought to explore the NEG’s inventive potential by introducing it to modern music, allowing it to perform the pauses of today.
a reconstruction from scratch
The NEG, designed by Vincenzo Agnetti in 1970 and constructed in collaboration with Brionvega, was used for a single piece of artwork (Vobulation and Bieloquenza NEG, 1970, with Gianni Colombo) before it went missing. 2019 saw the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive reconstructing the NEG, in association with Recipient.cc, adhering to the original patent and components of the era. Agnetti saw the NEG as an interpreter of silence, a machine that could generate art autonomously. As such, the Vincenzo Agnetti Archive sought to explore the NEG’s inventive potential by introducing it to modern music, allowing it to perform the pauses of today.
Direction: Martino Coffa
Drawings and building: Andrea Ghia
Electronics: Giovanni Mambretti
Production: Archivio Agnetti
Photos by: Archivio Agnetti, Paolo Marelli, Matteo Frittelli
Video direction by: Matteo Frittelli
Sound: Attila Faravelli