Symphonie Cinetique - the Poetrie of Motion | 2013




| video |

Symphonie Cinétique – The Poetry of Motion is a kinetic com­po­sition that exploits the poetic synergy of music and mecha­nical mo­tion in a space. It was con­ceived in an in­tense colla­­bo­ration between Ice­landic musi­cian Ólafur Arnalds and Joachim Sauter in the MADE Space Berlin.

Symphonie Cinétique brings together five kinetic works that have been deve­loped over the last five years at ART+COM. The installations in the exhibition are proto­types of large kinetic artworks that were realised in this period. For every of these Prototypes Olafur Arnalds developed a musical- or sound theme. With this a score for a 16 min performance had been developed in which the installations performed together or as a soloist accompanied by Òlafur on a grand piano and a tablet.
After the performance the installations had been exhibited together with their musical themes.


These works are part of Symphonie Cinétique:

Delta Phi is based on the principle of caustics – the way light refracts on water. 
The chrome-plated surface was compu­tationally designed and 3D-milled. Encoded into each facet 
are hidden Greek letters, which become legible in the sur­rounding room with the help of reflected surface light. 
Phi is the sign for luminous flux. Delta stands for change and move­ment.

Resonance is a kinetic instal­lation made of light, move­ment and a mirrored body. 
Its ever-changing multi­plexed pattern of move­ment is literally coded in hardware. 
The abstract, moving light archi­tecture merges with, expands, and adds a new dynamic to the actual physical space.

Infinite Cube is a spatially concentrated, but at the same time expansive, kinetic installation. The spheres follow a compu­tational narrative that moulds them into a fluid succession of abstract shapes. An optical illusion extends the appa­rently clear spatial confines of the installation into infinity. 
Viewers are also reflected in the instal­la­tion, and their presence adds an additional layer to the interplay of real and reflected space.

Tri is a kinetic installation composed of triangular mirrors that move vertically and rotate around two axes in a complex choreo­graphy of flowing three-dimensional structures. Their physical movement is enhanced with ceiling lighting and an interplay between the reflective triangles and the dark, overlapping shadows they cast on the floor.

Manta Rhei combines choreographed light with physical movement for a kinetic sculpture, which blurs the boundaries between natural and artificial, animate and inanimate. Manta Rhei can perform a wide spectrum of patterns ranging from harmo­ni­ous to more conflicting. The changing ‘behaviour’ evokes the impression of an animated object with a certain degree of autonomy.

The collaboration between Olafur and Joachim had been initiated by MADE a creative platform located in Berlin for artists from a variety of fields. It is a venue for interdisciplinary projects that invites artists to step out of their artistic routines.