Anna Biró, Zane Berzina, Jackson Tan, Luke Fischbeck, Tincuta Heinzel
Kinokino, Sandnes
20.2.-12.4.14
Interactive textiles
The description of this exhibition and the artworks are thrilling: "Can textiles feel? Can touching textiles make music?", "The visitors are invited to touch the artwork to create music", "Walking on the carpet will initiate the voices of immigrants", "The artwork focuses on art noise, and reacts like a hedgehog". The descriptions pointed to the technology and the interaction with the visitor, not the aestethics of the artworks. Being a sci-fi fan, this is something to my taste. New technology, interactivity, creating music, the edge of science.
But unfortunately the descriptions are far more interesting and tempting than the actual experience. It may be that they did not work fully when I was there, maybe I was doing something wrong, or maybe I failed to see the scale of importance. To me it seemed that most of the artworks were based on simple physics: Static electricity ignites either the start of a sound tape or the light of a led-light. Stepping on switches hidden under a carpet initiate voices from a recording.The textile itself seemed to be of little importance, it might as well be paper or wood, as long as they would have electricity-conducting metal on them.
This is probably one of the problems of new, unstable and technical challenging art. Sometimes it simply does not work. Or sometimes it is simply disappointingly simple. Maybe the contrast between the descriptions and the artwork was what created the disappointment. Maybe the artworks would have stronger effect without the descriptions. Or maybe the descriptions would had worked better without the artworks.
Anna Biró: Web
The visitors are invited to touch the artwork to initiate sound, and it also reacts to movements around it. The sound was a human sigh, seeming to sound randomly.
Luke Fischbeck: Center of Attention
Visitors are invited to hold two or more threads at the time, even in combination with others. Unfortunately I was not able to create any sound.
Zane Berzina: E-Static Shadows
This is a model and a video description of a project where the light bulbs light on or off as you wipe your hand over them, using static electricity as an ignitor.
Tincuta Heinzel: Hedgehog Fabric
The spikes of the carped erect if you make a noise, then they relax again.
