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Concert Hall

From 20/06/2013 to 07/09/2013

A mammoth installation that resembles a music box in which sound pieces and visual works combine to create a multi-sensory experience.

A self-taught artist and curator, co-founder of the Flux Factory in New York, Jean Barberis presents a monster installation that resembles an immense music box, in which sound compositions and visual works, produced by various artists, combine to create a multi-sensory experience. This labyrinth-like and spectacular project changes according to the audience’s impulses.
“Concert Hall” is a mammoth both architectural and musical installation, a group project undertaken by artists, builders, musicians and composers coming together specifically for this occasion. Each participant contributes his or her ideas and skills, involving themselves in all stages of the project. It is a music box of gigantic proportions, a labyrinth in which viewers can witness the creation of a mechanical musical piece, producing a multi-sensory experience. An interactive environment they can explore, “Concert Hall” is the perfect habitat for a large orchestra of kinetic and sound sculptures. Like Palais de Tokyo itself, this installation is labyrinthlike, both grandiose and modest. The collective Rabid Hands and Sunita Prasad use salvaged materials and derelict objects to create its reactive, parasitic, visceral architecture. This patchwork of hazardous architectures invites viewers to embark on an exhilarating discovery, an adventure: a staircase, winding up an intricate tower, leads to a fairy-tale house; a secret wardrobe reveals a loudly resounding cavern. Each space resonates with melodies meticulously crafted by Julien Gasc, Nick Yulman and Ranjit Bhatnagar, played on automated glockenspiels. Robot rhythm sections and an animated accordion hanging from the ceiling. Interactive light works by maya.rouvelle and Frederic Durieu enhance the experience. The entire installation, responsive to the public’s impulses, is ruled by a computer and linked by a MIDI system that tie the twisted charm of mechanical music to the precision of digital technology. “Concert Hall” functions as a permanent display, each visit leading to a different experience, a continually renewed discovery.

CURATOR
Curator: Jean Barberis, in collaboration with Georgia Muenster
Jean Barberis (b. 1978, lives and works in New York and Baltimore) is an artist, curator and producer of cultural programs. He is one of the founders of Flux Factory, an art center and residency program located in New York. His interests range from urban exploration, gastronomy and sailing, to the economies and exchanges that defy the control of capitalism. His self-taught, participative and collaborative method favors a hands-on approach. Works by Barberis have been displayed at the Whitney Museum, Queens Museum, New Museum and Elizabeth Foundation in New York, at Godsbanen in Arhus (Denmark), and at the Sziget festival in Budapest.

WITH
Ranjit Bhatnagar, Frédéric Durieu, Julien Gasc, Rabid Hands (Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels, Andrew Schrock, VnessWolfCHild and Ben Wolf), Sunita Prasad, maya.rouvelle (Lili Maya and James Rouvelle) and Nick Yulman