Author: james rouvelle
38 hours to spring (w/ lili maya)
The music is a variation on the Song of Seikilos.
A LA VITESSE DE TON SOUFFLE @ la generale en manufacture (w/ lili maya)
more details for the work are on the vimeo page.
Influenced by our time walking in and around Paris, La Générale and the jardins de Versailles, à la vitesse de ton souffle is an installation in the form of a sequence of compositions and spaces made of sound, light, objects and movement, activated by visitors walking through the gallery at the speed of their own breathing. Each composition oscillates and slips between various binaries: formal and semiotic, interior and exterior, found and placed, organic and artificial, operand and operator. à la vitesse de ton souffle is a perambulation in a twilight heterotopia of green and pink noise.
Influencés par le temps passé à nous promener dans et autour de Paris, La Générale et les jardins de Versailles, à la vitesse de ton souffle est une installation qui prend forme dans l’ordre des compositions et des espaces créés par le son, la lumière, les objets et les mouvements, activés par les visiteurs qui se déplacent dans l’espace à la vitesse de leur respiration. Chaque assemblage oscille et glisse entre diverses dualités : formel et sémiotique, intérieur et extérieur, trouvé et placé, organique et artificiel, opérant et opérateur. à la vitesse de ton souffle est une pérambulation dans un crépuscule hétérotopique d’un bruit vert et rose.
au concert printemps flottant @ palais de tokyo (with lili maya)
au concert printemps flottant is a maya.rouvelle installation shown at the palais de tokyo as part of concert hall, a large collaborative work included in nouvelle vagues.
au concert printemps flottant is a kinetic installation composed of organic and industrial materials, including a live tillandsia medusa, a custom LED grow light, a motor, and commercial gas vapor street lights, among other materials. a micro-controller regulates movement and changes in lighting intended to both sustain the tillandsia and reveal a sequence of 26 short variations in movement and light over 11 minutes. au concert printemps flottant was built and programmed on-site during the installation period for nouvelle vagues’ concert hall and was influenced by, and references, the themes of music, play and integration at the heart of this exhibit.
the materials include: tillandsia caput-medusa, electronics, plastic tubing, metal springs, custom electric light, vellum, wood, paint.
the dimensions of the work are approximately 10’x20’x15′.
click on the images above or here for the flickr set.
quine (with lili maya)
quine was shown at our solo show at die Botschaft, and is named for logician/mathematician Willard Van Orman Quine. a quine is a computer program that takes no input and produces a copy of its own source code as its only output. our quine was made with the shadows of leaves and branches, and light (sunlight and streetlight) that played across the gallery wall behind it. the changes in light on quine’s surface are intended to evoke an active slippage where the edges of the work expand and contract with the changing ambient light of its environment. the piece is solar powered and composed of motors, circuitry, wire, tape, vellum, leaves, and LEDs.
still images here
mottetto (with lili maya)
mottetto was shown at our solo show at die Botschaft, and is an illuminated drawing in space composed of three similar robots whose LEDs are individually programmed to slowly oscillate between different hues of blue and green. with each oscillation the target hues change, slightly. these changes in color interval expand and contract the speed at which the LEDs change color. each of mottetto’s robots have subtle, distinguishing characteristics.
still images here
resonance (with lili maya)
resonance was shown at our solo show at die Botschaft, and is a kinetic sound work composed of suspended tubing, wire, and electronics. a small motor bounces across the open ends of several small tubes at varying speeds, altering the pattern of sounds emanating from the work and vibrating the LED, which pulses with the same frequencies controlling the motor.
still images here
rounded binary (with lili maya)
rounded binary was shown at our solo show at die Botschaft, and is a kinetic sound work that has two states: spinning and stationary. when spinning, the tape on the motor creates the illusion of a circle – but changes in speed and direction of the motor produce varying tones and a shadow reveals the tape attached to the shaft to be irregularly shaped. when the motor stops spinning the jagged shape of the tape and lack of sound/motion create the illusion of a static sculptural object.
still images here
images from die Botschaft show on flickr
we just posted images from our show at die Botschaft, take a look!
new works:
mottetto
quine
inversi
resonance
rapport
rounded binary
video will follow shortly.
die Botschaft 1628, a private gallery
lili and i (maya.rouvelle) have a show at a private gallery in baltimore, md, called die Botschaft 1628, owned by marcia hart. the show runs until september 23, features 6 new works, and is available by appointment only. none of the work is for sale, there was no opening, and no hype. we had several salon style discussions, and visits with interested viewers.
prior to our show we weren’t aware of people dedicating parts of their homes to occasional, private art exhibits.
the experience has been wonderful. before this opportunity we began the summer developing several works with no idea where they would eventually be shown – happily devoting our time to our work and process. in may we met marcia and visited die Botschaft 1628, and had a few subsequent discussions over the summer that lead to the opportunity.
we structured our time as a residency with an accompanying exhibit. we completed the works begun in our studio on-site, conditioned by the gallery, and after the works were completed, were able to spend mindful time with interested visitors and get their feedback. we gave a few gallery talks to small groups and had easy access to the space while managing when visitors would be there. we were able to visit the work privately to look at it installed at different times of the day (the gallery has two large windows so the lighting conditions change dramatically), document and learn from it.
the title we chose for the show was: a silent evocation of the society for private musical performance – a reference to the salon chamber music society of vienna in the early 20th century. that society was designed to permit a diverse array of new concert music the chance to be heard in an educated, critical environment of careful listening and thought (often works were performed twice on the same evening) as a foil to mounting public and journalistic confusion of popular trends, entertainment and privilege with art that were contributing to a harsh environment for the evolution of music as an art form.
our time at die Botschaft 1628 has shown us an ideal exhibition paradigm for our art practice and process, and we’ll leave the gallery focused and inspired. i’m writing about this because there may be others out there who feel similarly, either potential private gallerists or artists, and this may serve as an impetus to a deeply rewarding experience.
we’ll be posting documentation of our work here and on our shared site, mayarouvelle.com, in the coming weeks.