VERENA FRIEDRICH
El largo ahora
Una pompa de jabón generalmente permanece estable solo por unos momentos: es una esfera perfectamente formada con una superficie iridiscente que refleja su entorno. Como uno de los símbolos clásicos de la vanitas, la pompa de jabón representa tradicionalmente la fugacidad del momento y la fragilidad de la vida. THE LONG NOW aborda la pompa de jabón desde una perspectiva contemporánea, con referencia a sus propiedades químicas y físicas, así como a los recientes avances científicos y tecnológicos. THE LONG NOW tiene como objetivo extender la vida útil de una pompa de jabón, o incluso preservarla para siempre. Usando una fórmula mejorada, una máquina genera una burbuja, la envía a una cámara con una atmósfera controlada y la mantiene en suspensión el mayor tiempo posible. El proyecto se presenta bajo la forma de un montaje experimental en el que la pompa de jabón recién creada oscila permanentemente entre la fragilidad y la estabilidad.
Verena Friedrich
Vanitas Machine
The installation VANITAS MACHINE addresses the desire for eternal life and the potential of life-prolonging measures. Based on a candle which – by means of technical intervention – burns down very slowly, vanitas machine creates a contemporary analogy to the endeavour of prolonging the human lifespan with the help of science and technology.Being one of the classical vanitas symbols, a burning candle recalls the futility of the moment, the transience of human life and the certainty of the end of all existence. But is this end really still inevitable?In the course of the last two centuries, average human life expectancy has increased significantly in the industrialised countries. Moreover, in the context of scientific research the biological causes of ageing are being explored. Numerous theories of aging have already been developed pointing both towards physiological as well as environmental factors.One of the first theories of ageing was the so-called »metabolism theory«, which claims that the lifespan of organisms is reciprocally related to energy turnover and therefore connected to calorie intake, oxygen consumption and heart rate: The higher the metabolic rate, the shorter the lifespan of the organism.
Verena Friedrich
THE LONG NOW
A soap bubble usually remains stable for only a few moments – it is a perfectly formed sphere with an iridescent surface that reflects its surroundings. As one of the classical vanitas symbols the soap bubble traditionally stands for the transience of the moment and the fragility of life. THE LONG NOW approaches the soap bubble from a contemporary perspective – with reference to its chemical and physical properties as well as recent scientific and technological developments. THE LONG NOW is aimed at extending the lifespan of a soap bubble, or even to preserve it forever. Using an improved formula, a machine generates a bubble, sends it to a chamber with a controlled atmosphere and keeps it there in suspension for as long as possible. The project is presented in the form of an experimental set-up in which the newly created soap bubble oscillates permanently between fragility and stability.
Oli Sorenson
LA SOCIETE DE LA PLACE DES SPECTACLES
FILE SAO PAULO 2015
Inspired from the live works of Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto (1933-) of meticulously ransacking large mirrors, Sorenson revisited the classical traditions of vanitas under the materiality of video, and generate his creative process from the destruction of consumer components.
OLI SORENSON
video pistoletto
FILE SAO PAULO 2015
Inspired from the live works of Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto (1933-) of meticulously ransacking large mirrors, Sorenson revisited the classical traditions of vanitas under new materials together with one of the more celebrated exploits of Arte Povera.
Verena Friedrich
VANITAS MACHINEの設置は、永遠の命への欲求と延命措置の可能性に対応しています。技術的介入によって非常にゆっくりと燃え尽きるろうそくに基づいて、VANITAS MACHINEは、科学技術の助けを借りて人間の寿命を延ばす努力に現代的なアナロジーを作成します。 古典的なヴァニタスのシンボルの1つである燃えるろうそくは、瞬間の無益さ、人間の生活の一時性、そしてすべての存在の終わりの確実性を思い起こさせます。しかし、この目的は本当にまだ避けられないのでしょうか？ 過去2世紀の間に、工業国では平均余命が大幅に伸びました。さらに、科学的研究の文脈では、老化の生物学的原因が調査されています。老化の多くの理論は、生理学的要因と環境要因の両方に向けてすでに開発されています。 老化の最初の理論の1つは、いわゆる「生存率理論」でした。これは、生物の寿命がエネルギー代謝回転に相互に関連しているため、カロリー摂取量、酸素消費量、心拍数に関連していると主張しています。代謝率、生物の寿命が短くなります。 VANITAS MACHINEでは、実験装置の中央にキャンドルが置かれています。人間の呼吸プロセスと同様に、燃えているろうそくは酸素を消費し、二酸化炭素と水を生成します。酸素とエネルギーの代謝回転が高いほど、キャンドルの燃焼時間は短くなります。 VANITAS MACHINEは、制御された条件下でキャンドルを「生きた」状態に保つために特別に開発されました。環境要因からそれを保護し、酸素供給を正確に調整することによって、キャンドルの「代謝」、したがってその「寿命」に影響を与えることができます。
HELEN CHADWICK
海伦查德威克
ヘレン·チャドウィック
헬렌 채드윅
Хелен Чедвик
Vanitas II
In this self-portrait, Chadwick uses her own body to examine the politics and associations surrounding female portraiture and the nude. There is a direct reference to the long tradition in art of female Vanitas figures, contemplating their own image in a mirror. They illustrate the fragility of physical beauty and all human creation.
Here, the artist gazes into a mirror, which reflects one of her works, the Oval Court installation, her own ‘Garden of Delights’. It is a defiant image, confronting the inevitable process of change but not as a de-personalised or idealised nude. Rather she portrays herself as a creator in control of her own image.