AxS Festival 2014 | CURIOSITY is presenting the North American premiere of SPHAERAE, a large-scale temporary public artwork by Dutch artist Cocky Eek.
SPHAERAE is an inflatable pavilion — a component of an ongoing strand of research by architect Eek into the pneumatology and tactility of inflatables and lightweight spaces. Developed in partnership with Synergetica Lab in Amsterdam and the Artscience Interfaculty program in The Hague, SPHAERAEconsists of five semi-transparent bubbles of different sizes, which together form a multi-dome construction designed for immersive, synaesthetic experience.
Eek was inspired to create SPHAERAE by an evening of audiovisual works in a planetarium, including 10,000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming Acid, an audiovisual performance work by Netherlands-based artists Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand.
Unlike ordinary light, the laser’s focused beam is capable of generating a large-scale projection of molecular interactions as well as mind-boggling phenomena of non-linear optics. Sphæræ’sinflatable structure was designed to both serve as a platform for this uniquely spectacular work, as well as create a venue for other artists, scientists, and performers to make 180° works and compositions which explore the phenomena of light, sound and movement within the domes.
AxS Festival 2014 will present Domnitch + Gelfand in a live performance of 10,000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming Acid — the work that inspired the creation of the SPHAERAE platform — and Solunaris, a new collaborative work by William Basinski & Richard Chartier commissioned by the Pasadena Arts Council and curated by Domnitch + Gelfand.
SPHAERAE will also feature the premiere of Sol Path, a new interactive music work by composer/cognitive scientist Bruno Louchouarn. A concerto for solo viola/percussion/soundscape, Sol Path features live performance by renowned viola soloist Brett Deubner, and immersive multi-media by Asheville, North Carolina-based designer Adam Larsen.
Sol Path is inspired by the exploratory path that the Rover takes over the course of a Martian day — a Sol — which is collaboratively programmed by a team of Earth-bound explorers. Sol Path was created in part with composer Louchouarn in residency at NASA/JPL. Through his dialogues with the Mars Curiosity team — rover drivers, artificial intelligence designers, the “planetary protection team” and others — actual data from the Curiosity mission will become inputs to Louchoarn’s composition and inform the very shape of the experience.
SPHAERAE will be on view for the duration of the festival and feature projects including work, as a far-ranging program of sound works, video screenings, and talks by artists including Chris Duncan, Jeff Cain, Mattia Casalegno, Francisco López, Intimatchine, Lucky Dragons, Mike Harding/Touch, Yann Novak, Eric Parren, Paul Prudence, Steve Roden, Jet Smits, Julie Tolentino, Martijn Van Boven, Bas Van Koolwijk, and Virons.
Performances & Artist Talks
- Sep 19
- Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand | Lucky Dragons
- Sep 20
- William Basinski and Richard Chartier | Yann Novak | Steve Roden
- Sep 21
- Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand: Quantum Sensitivity
- Sep 21
- Intimatchine | Christopher O’Leary: Xerodrome
- Sep 24
- Francisco López: Hyper-Rainforest
- Sep 24
- David O’Brien: Universal Friend
- Sep 25
- Francisco López: Hyper-Rainforest
- Sep 25
- Synergetica Screening | France Jobin + Fabio Perletta with xx+xy visuals | Mattia Casalegno
- Sep 26
- William Basinski and James Elaine | Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand | Eric Parren
- Sep 27
- Theun Karelse: Mapping The Edible Landscape
- Sep 27
- Cocky Eek: A History Of Inflatables
- Sep 27
- Jeff Cain: Skyglow | Ezekiel Honig | Mike Harding
- Sep 28
- Julie Tolentino: Shatter + Center
- Sep 28
- Marko Peljhan: Arctic Lab
- Sep 28
- OFFING | Virons
- Sep 29
- Francisco López: Hyper-Rainforest
- Oct 1
- Connie Samaras and Soo Kim
- Oct 2
- Richard Chartier | Steve Roden | Yann Novak | Lucky Dragons
- Oct 3
- Francisco López: Hyper-Rainforest
- Oct 3
- Bruno Louchouarn: Sol Path
- Oct 4
- Sol Path + Synergetica Screening
- Oct 5
- Francisco López: Hyper-Rainforest
The North American premiere of SPHAERAE is made possible in part by the Mondriaan Fund and GuestHaus Residency.
