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道格·艾特肯

Underwater Pavilions

source: wired
CATALINA ISLAND IS just 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, but it feels much farther. As our boat pulls into the small harbor, past people fishing on the pier, nearly every first-time visitor proclaims that it looks like a Greek island, or the south of France.
But I’m not here for the quaint old fashioned harbor, I’m here for a futuristic art installation just off the coast, under the sea surface.
These waters are the site of a new installation by artist Doug Aitken. Called Underwater Pavilions, the piece comprises three massive, geodesic structures. At around 12 feet in diameter, each one is big enough to swim through, for divers and fish alike. Aitken sculpted the pavilions from mirrors and artificial rock, and collaborated with a range of specialists to submerge them in the local dive park and moor them to the ocean floor.
But building and installing these structures wasn’t easy. Aitken wants his exhibit to raise awareness about the declining health of the oceans. At the same time, the Pacific Ocean between the island and mainland is a federally protected essential fish habitat. This required Aitken and his team to carefully select the site of the installation and the materials of the sculptures themselves, to make sure they weren’t harming the cause they were highlighting.
“We pulled in our whole network of marine biologists, submarine engineers, boat makers—all kinds of highly specialized people,” says Cyrill Gutsch, founder of conservation group Parley For The Oceans, partner on the project. “The idea was to totally empower the artist, so he wouldn’t have to think about limitations of any kind.”[…]

As I descend through the slightly murky water, the first of the structures looms into view, reflecting back a vision of me, and the light above. The outside top surface is a mirror, which plays with my perception under water. As I drop lower, the world is turned upside down. It’s disorienting, but beautiful.
Another of the sculptures is mirrored on the inside, and divers’ exhaled bubbles collect at the top like mercury before escaping through a crack. The surfaces also reflect the fish, in particular the bright orange Garibaldi, so their images seem to bounce to infinity.
Before they were submerged, these artificial structures looked like they’d never fit into a natural environment. The geodesics are covered in sharp edges, metallic reflective surfaces, and white composite materials. There’s something unmistakably ‘70s-era scifi about them—an effect augmented by my sense of weightlessness below water, and the absence of noise—save for the sound of my own breathing. And yet, nature has already begun to claim the structures. They are covered in a fine layer of green algae, which helps them blend in.

The algae suits them. Aitken designed these pavilions to be a gateway to the ocean. “When we think of Western art, we think of things that are fixed and finished when they leave the artist’s studio,” Aitken says, when I surface. “In a situation like this, it’s of great interest to me to see if we can can see new forms of art evolve. If an artwork can change as you the viewer change, there is a different form of dialogue.” The goal he says, is to entice people into relating to the ocean not as a two-dimensional surface they see from a beach, but a world with depth, worthy of exploring and protecting.
That message is already attracting positive attention. “I think the pavilions are wonderful,” says USC biologist David Ginsburg, who is unaffiliated with the project. He oversees a range of environmental studies courses on and around Catalina, and says that the dive park where the geodesics are located is a popular resource for underwater coursework, research, and experiential learning. Aitken’s sculptures, he says, are a welcome addition. “They’re a good way to get people outside, in the water, and thinking about conservation,” he says.
It helps that the installation, itself, was built with conservation in mind. Parley engaged renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle and her company, DOER Marine, to help with construction. Submarine builder and DOER president Liz Taylor brought practical diving experience to the team, and a familiarity with the local ecology that helped the project secure the necessary permits. Gutsch even recruited local diver and conservationist Bill Bushing—”a local,” says Ginsburg; “Bill’s lived on Catalina forever, and he’s a legend”—to conduct a survey of the dive park, to find an ideal spot for the pavilions.
The materials, too, were selected to have a low impact on the environment, while also being resilient and remaining true to Aitken’s artistic vision. (There’s no point having mirrors that quickly corrode and stop reflecting, for example.) “We conducted pressure testing of materials to get some true measure of anticipated performance and durability,” Taylor says.

Even the infrastructure is low impact. Putting a trio of sculptures this large above ground would have required cranes and strong supports. Underwater, where the salt water affords a degree of buoyancy, installing the piece was as simple as lowering the structures into the water and securing it to the sea floor. The moorings are designed to be reusable for other purposes in the dive park, when the pavilions is eventually relocated, but they can also be removed completely without damaging the sandy ocean floor.

Although the installation is about art, not science, Taylor believes oceanographers could learn from the project. The textured surfaces of the pavilions will be left for plants and animals to grown on, but the mirrored surfaces will be scrubbed occasionally. “Since we know exactly when the pavilions were installed, divers can provide feedback as to what kinds of plants and animals begin growing on them, and how quickly,” Taylor says. The mirrored surfaces will provide a control and comparison. In the future, Sylvia Earle would like to work with scientists to integrate various sensors into the structures, to allow them to serve as “micro ocean observatories.”
If you can’t visit the installation in person, or just don’t fancy the cold ocean, Aitken plans to broadcast a a live stream of the pavilions from underwater. He says that a friend of his was looking over his footage, collected over the two years of designing, testing, and installing the project. He remarked that it looked better than the fictional scenes that virtual reality designers are creating, so that is a likely next stage for the project—a virtual fly through.
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source: wiredjp
カタリナ島は、ロサンゼルスの海岸から22マイル（35km）離れたところにあるが、もっと遠く離れているように感じられる。わたしたちのボートが小さな港に着き、釣りをする人々の側を通りすぎるとき、初めての訪問者たちは、そこがギリシャの島、あるいは南フランスのように見えると口をそろえる。

しかし、わたしは古風で趣のある港を求めてここに来たのではない。水面下にある、未来的なアートインスタレーションを求めてここに来たのだ。

この海域は、いまやアーティストのダグ・エイケンによる新しいインスタレーションの舞台となった。「Underwater Pavilion」（水中パヴィリオン）と呼ばれるこの作品は、3つの巨大な構造体からなる。構造体の大きさは直径約12m。ダイヴァーと魚がその中を泳ぐには十分な大きさだ。エイケンは鏡や人工岩からこのパヴィリオンをつくり上げ、さまざまな専門家と協力して海底に沈めた。

エイケンは自身の作品によって、海の健康が損なわれていることについて人々の意識が高まることを望んでいる。また、この島と本土の間にある海域には、保護の対象となる希少な魚も棲息している。そのため、エイケンとチームは、彼らが重要だと強調するものを損なわないように、インスタレーションの設置場所と彫刻の材料をよく考えて選ぶ必要があった。

「わたしたちは、海洋生物学者、潜水艦技術者、ボートメイカーといった、あらゆる種類の専門知識をもった人々のネットワークを活用しました」。自然保護団体「Parley For The Oceans」の設立者であり、プロジェクトのパートナーを務めたシリル・ガッシュは言う。

パヴィリオンを直接見る唯一の方法は、ダイヴィングしかない。そこで、わたしはスキューバダイヴィングの短期入門コースを受けたのち、ウェットスーツのファスナーを閉めて12月の太平洋の寒さに備えた。

少し濁った水の中に潜ると、自分の姿と上からの光を反射させた構造物が目に入ってくる。上部は鏡のようになっていて、水面下で見るとまるで自分の知覚がおかしくなったような感覚がする。下へ降りるにつれ、見えている世界が逆さまになるのだ。方向感覚は失われるが、その彫刻は美しかった。

もうひとつの彫刻は内側に鏡がついている。その壁は魚を、特に明るいオレンジ色をしたガリバルディ（スズメダイの一種）を映し、そのイメージが無限に重なって見える。

これらの人工構造物は、水中に沈められる前までは、とても自然環境に調和するようには思えなかった。その彫刻は、鋭い縁、金属の反射面、白い化合物で覆われている。紛れもなく70年代風のSFを思わせるところがある。しかし、自然界はすでにこの構造物を受け入れ始めている。（海に沈められた）彫刻は、緑色の細かい藻類で覆われ始めているのだ。

エイケンは、これらのパヴィリオンを海への入り口となるように設計した。「芸術について考えるとき、それはアーティストのスタジオで完成させられなければならないと、つい思いがちです」。わたしが水中から上がったとき、エイケンはそう語った。

「わたしが関心があるのは、芸術が新しいかたちに進化できるかどうかということです。もし見る人が変わるにつれて芸術も変化していくなら、そこではいまとは異なるかたちの対話が行われるはずです」。彼の目標は、海岸から見える2次元の表面的な世界ではなく、奥行きのある、探検すべき、そして守るべき世界としての海に人々を誘い出すことだという。

そのメッセージにはすでに、好意的な声が寄せられている。「パヴィリオンは素晴らしかったと思います」と語るのは、南カリフォルニア大学の生物学者デヴィッド・ギンズバーグだ。彼はカタリナ周辺で行われる環境講座を監督しており、エイケンの彫刻は、水中での体験型学習によく用いられているという。「これらは、人々が海に入るきっかけとなります。そして、環境について考えるきっかけにも」

Parley For The Oceansは、有名な海洋生物学者シルヴィア・アールと彼女自身の企業、DOER Marine（ドア・マリン）とともに建設を行った。

ドアの社長であるリズ・タイラーはプロジェクトチームに、実践的なダイヴィングの経験と、地元の生態系に関する知識を与えた。ガッシュは水中公園を調査し、パヴィリオンに理想的な場所を見つけるために、地元のダイヴァーや環境保護論者ビル・ブッシングさえも採用した。「ビルはずっとカタリナに住んでいる、ここらへんでは伝説的な人物です」とガッシュは言う。

材料は、環境への影響が少なく、弾力性があり、エイケンの芸術的なヴィジョンに適うものが選ばれた（たとえば、すぐに腐食して映らなくなってしまう鏡は使えない）。「期待される性能と耐久性を得るために、材料の圧力試験を行いました」とタイラーは言う。

このインスタレーションはいわゆる科学プロジェクトではなく、アートとしてのそれだが、海洋学者もまた、パヴィリオンから学ぶことは多いとタイラーは信じている。パヴィリオンの表面には凹凸が目立つが、そこには動植物が生息できる。

「わたしたちはパヴィリオンがいつ設置されたのかを正確に把握しているので、どのような動植物が、どのくらいの速さでこのパヴィリオン上で成長しているのか、（鏡を磨くために定期的にパヴィリオンを訪れる）ダイヴァーたちに訊くことができるでしょう」とタイラーは言う。将来、海洋生物学者のアールはほかの科学者と協力して、この構造物にさまざまなセンサーを組み込むことで「マイクロ・オーシャン天文台」として役立てたいと考えている。

いずれ水中パヴィリオンは移動される。カタリナは一時的な展示場所にすぎないのだ。そのときに生物学者たちは、この建造物に住む動植物を、新しい棲家に移さなければならないだろう。

次の展示場所はもっと熱い地域になるらしいが、まだ未定である。そして、彼らのミッションは変わらない。ダイヴァーに新しい視点を与え、訪れる人々が、海の状態についてじっくり考える機会を与えることだ。
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source: dougaitkenworkshop

Doug Aitken was born in California in 1968. He lives and works in Los Angeles and New York. Widely known for his innovative fine art installations, Doug Aitken is at the forefront of 21st century communication. Utilizing a wide array of media and artistic approaches, his eye leads us into a world where time, space, and memory are fluid concepts.

Aitken’s body of work ranges from photography, sculpture, and architectural interventions, to films, sound, single and multi-channel video works, and installations. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, in such institutions as the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vienna Secession, the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. He participated in the Whitney Biennial 1997 and 2000 and earned the International Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1999 for the installation “electric earth”.

Aitken’s “Sleepwalkers” exhibition at MoMA in 2007 transformed an entire block of Manhattan into an expansive cinematic experience as he covered the museum’s exteriors walls with projections. In 2009, his Sonic Pavilion opened to the public in the forested hills of Brazil at the new cultural foundation INHOTIM. Continuing his work in innovative outdoor projects, Aitken presented his large-scale film and architecture installation, “Frontier”, on Rome’s Isola Tiberina in November 2009 and at Art Basel Unlimited in 2010. Recently, Aitken’s multiform artwork “Black Mirror” engaged a site-specific multi-channel video installation and a live theatre performance on a uniquely designed barge floating off Athens and Hydra Island, Greece.
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source: inhotim

Desde os anos 1990, Doug Aitken (Redondo Beach, EUA, 1968; vive em Los Angeles, EUA) desenvolve uma série de filmes, fotografias, instalações e vídeos que investigam a relação entre natureza, memória, tempo e espaço. Sua obra fala de lugares inabitados, ruínas, vestígios de onde o tempo parece ter outro ritmo. O artista tem concentrado boa parte de sua pesquisa recente a instalações com vídeos e a seus filmes, embora a preocupação com o espaço arquitetônico sempre esteja presente nos trabalhos.

Doug Aitken participou de diversas exposições individuais e coletivas, assim como tem exibido sua obra em festivais de cinema e de vídeo. Entre seus projetos recentes mais importantes, destacam-se Migration (2008), na mostra Carnegie International (Pittsburgh, EUA), e Sleepwalkers (2007), exibido na fachada do Museum of Modern Art, em Nova York. Em 2005, expôs no Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Em 1999, recebeu o prêmio Leão de Ouro da Bienal de Veneza pela instalação “Electric Earth”.
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source: inhotim

Born in Redondo Beach, Estados Unidos, 1968; vive en Los Ángeles, Estados Unidos. Desde los años 90, Doug Aitken (Redondo Beach, EUA, 1968; vive en Los Ángeles, EUA) desarrolla una serie de películas, fotografías, instalaciones y vídeos que investigan la relación entre naturaleza, memoria, tiempo y espacio. Su obra habla de lugares inhabitables, ruinas, vestigios donde el tiempo parece tener otro ritmo. El artista ha concentrado buena parte de su investigación reciente en las instalaciones con vídeos y en sus filmes, aunque la preocupación por el espacio arquitectónico siempre esté presente en los trabajos.

Doug Aitken participó de diversas exposiciones individuales y colectivas, así como también ha exhibido su obra en festivales de cine y de vídeo. Entre sus proyectos recientes más importantes se destacan Migration (2008), en la muestra Carnegie International (Pittsburgh, EUA), y Sleepwalkers (2007), exhibido en la fachada del Museum of Modern Art, en Nueva York. Em 2005, expuso en el Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de París. En 1999 recibió el premio Leão de Ouro de la Bienal de Venecia por la instalación “Electric Earth”.
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source: artobserved
Working across a broad body of media and techniques, including photography, sculpture, video, installation, sound art and architectural interventions, Los Angeles-based artist Doug Aitken’s work frequently explores concepts of rhythm, repetition and duration, exploring interrelations between time, memory and space and the subsequent fluctuations of meaning and understanding caused by their interactions. His work has been ehxibited in a variety of institutions and contexts, including his enormous Song1 installation on the outside of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, as well as his upcoming video art installation at the Seattle Art Museum.
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source: espalhafactos
Doug Aitken nasceu em 1968 na Califórnia. Célebre especialmente pela sua abordagem original da arte multimédia através de instalações, Aitken utiliza um grande espólio de abordagens a nível artístico e dos media para criar cenários onde imagem e som, tempo e espaço, memória e realidade virtual coexistem e são conceitos cujos significados se metamorfoseiam, diluídos num universo sem regras.

Em relação às suas influências artísticas, podemos distinguir dois pontos de referencia principais na sua obra. Primeiramente, a sua estética remete para o Expanded Cinema dos anos 60, com a tentativa de superar o sentido único do espaço cinematográfico em termos visuais através de múltiplas projecções. Em segundo lugar, Doug possui influências das produções de Hollywood, bem como de videoclips musicais, alguns dos quais foram filmados pelo próprio para artistas como Iggy Pop e Fatboy Slim.

Estas fontes de inspiração traduzem-se nas suas instalações. Em sleepwalkers (2007), que teve lugar no MoMA, este transformou um bloco inteiro de Manhattan numa autêntica experiência cinematográfica, cobrindo as paredes exteriores do museu com projecções paralelas de acções de cinco indivíduos.

No caso de migration (2008), quatro projecções revelam quartos de hotéis e motéis, onde em vez de indivíduos conseguimos antever animais, criando assim um certo contraste.

Continuando agora com os seus projectos ao ar livre, Aitken apresentou uma instalação de cinema e arquitectura em grande escala em Isola Tiberina (Roma), intitulada Frontier, em 2009.

Já em Altered Earth, concebida em 2012, é explorada a paisagem em constante mudança de Arles (França), através de imagens em movimento.

SONG 1 ocorreu em 2012 e envolveu o Hirshhorn Museum (localizado em Washington DC) em panorâmicas projecções de vídeo de 360 ​​graus, transformando o seu exterior num espectáculo audiovisual. O hit vintage I Only Have Eyes For You, que se desdobrou e ecoou lentamente ao longo da gigante superfície circular do museu, foi continuamente reformulado e reinventado em SONG 1.

Já no ano de 2013, Aitken criou MIRROR no Seattle Art Museum. Foram utilizadas centenas de horas de imagens em tempo real e numa constante mudança, em resposta aos movimentos da vida do quotidiano ao seu redor, transformando o exterior do museu num caleidoscópio vivo.

Deste modo, o seu trabalho já teve destaque em inúmeras exposições individuais e colectivas por todo o mundo, em instituições conceituadas como o Whitney Museum of American Art. O seu trabalho já foi múltiplas vezes premiado, recebendo condecorações como o Prémio Internacional da Bienal de Veneza, em 1999, com a instalação electric earth e o Smithsonian American Magazine Ingenuity Award para Artes Visuais em 2013.

É realmente surpreendente o alcance mediático dos trabalhos artísticos de Doug Aitken. Este consegue expressar-se livremente através das novas tecnologias e utilizá-las para abordar fenómenos intemporais. Ao almejar uma ampliação da imagem através de projecções múltiplas, abandona o interior do museu e projecta sobre as suas fachadas, levando a arte às ruas por vezes caóticas de ambientes urbanos. Pretende assim chegar a um público mais vasto e desafiar os limites da expressão artística, encontrando-se, sem qualquer sombra de dúvidas, na linha da frente da comunicação do séc. XXI.