Noumenon

A truly universal artist, the American Alwin Nikolais (1910-1993) devoted his life to a radical form of staged art he called “dance theater.” Inspired (perhaps unconsciously) by the experiments of Bauhaus members such as Oskar Schlemmer and László Moholy-Nagy in the 1920s, Nikolais devised a style of abstract dance that encompassed costumes, stage sets, choreography, lighting, and music, all under his control. Also in 1963, Nikolais met analog synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, who was at the time just starting his business in New York. He was fascinated by the sounds of Moog’s machines, and with the money provided by a a Guggenheim Fellowship, Nikolais bought the first ever commercially produced Moog synthesizer. It was the primary sound-source for all of Nikolais’ scores from 1963 to 1975. The instrument is now housed at the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Treu
Treu is a real-time audiovisual installation that elaborates on the multiple meanings and implications of the concept of trust. On a macro level it observes how historical events have influenced its course and considers how this can evolve in the future. On a micro level, it, explores how the presence or absence of trust can shift the perception of our individual realities.
Trust is a fundamental element of our society. Politics, economics, and our whole modern system are not material realities – they are psychological constructs based on the trust in individuals, in institutions, in the market. We decide to believe in the value of money, to undertake social changes only if we trust the inventions of our collective imagination.
video

Splendour Lender
In Dutch history people expressed their status by displaying their most beautiful pieces of porcelain in the so called ‘pronkkasten’. This splendour lender is inspired by the ‘pronkkast’ and reflects upon status in modern times. How important is status in times of declining moral standards? In times where financial markets collapse, economies are shrinking and money tend to become a goal in itself? With this project I want to express the real nature of money and tell the true story of status; happiness. The splendour lender brings porcelain to life and shows the original function of  money as a medium to exchange goods and services. By putting a euro coin you’ll experience a joyful moment. After usage the coin will be returned so the circle can go round.

Борис ПЕТРОВСКИЙ
The Global Pursuit of Happiness or: The Army of Luck
What would you do with 520 cat figurines? If you’re artist Boris Petrovsky, you might turn them into a massive kinetic sculpture that serves as a sort of pixel-grid display for user-submitted expressions of hope. In his installation The Global Pursuit of Happiness, or: The Army of Luck, Petrovsky arranges 40 rows and 13 columns of the popular Japanese lucky talisman, Maneki Neko (literally Beckoning Cat; aka Lucky Cat, Money Cat), into a golden army of kitsch.