Project Name

Paint, graphite, aluminum flashing, wood veneer slats, nylon strapping, aluminum frame, skateboard wheels, electrical motor mechanism, electronic microphones, Arduino microcontroller interface

112”h x 168”w x 14”d

 

This digitally interactive kinetic sculpture is still a work in progress. It is a giant venetian blind driven by acoustic activity in its surroundings to rotate from one side to the other and back again.  One side of each slat is faced in polished aluminum, which catches the ambient light and reflects the configuration of painted patterns on the opposite side as the louvers rotate.  Viewers are given agency to set it in motion by clapping, shouting, making noise. While activating an inanimate object on display, their own behavior patterns are being reciprocally manipulated by that object and its design.

 

I originally designed the blinds for Seven Enigmas, my stage collaboration with dancer and choreographer Peter Sparling, where it suggested a membrane across an unseen barrier, a threshold moment between two experiences.   The composition of the painted surface was based on a pattern of Latin Squares meant to evoke the palindromic structure of the music and choreography.