About Artwork
In Loops Jonas Vorwerk comes back to the idea of creating new spatial and collective interfaces for music making. A concept he has already addressed in earlier works such as the Lightbox Sequencer, Windorgel and Musical Forest, but this time focusing on a different aspect – audio loops. Almost as if he was taking contemporary music apart, Vorwerk explores its elements in isolation and builds devices that introduce them to a wider audience.
This installation acts as a highly intuitive apparatus that allows anyone to play around with loop-based musical compositions. As it were Loops pay a tribute to the music lab of the 50’s and 60’s where experimentation with analogue magnetic tapes built the ground for modern music making. Vorwerk’s lab, however, is not an enclosed studio full of experts. It is out in the open, anywhere in the public space. His inconspicuous circular sound machines can be operated by anyone, and even though they are primarily digital their interface is purely kinetic and manual, allowing the user to quickly understand how to use them.
The speed and playback direction of the preprogrammed samples are manipulated by a steel controller-wheel. Its material properties such as weight and resistance consciously introduce a hand-operated element to sound control, at the same time making the artwork play with both the digital and the analogue realms. Its simple and elegant form together with vibrant light animations create a corresponding visual reflection of the soundscape lab created by the public and form an unusual audio-visual spectacle.
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Artist(s)
Jonas Vorwerk
JONAS VORWERK IS A MULTIMEDIA ARTIST WHO CREATES ENVIRONMENTS THAT CHALLENGE BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG INTERACTION BETWEEN AUDIENCE AND OBJECTS.
He is interested in working with aspects that are present both in the digital and the physical domains such as multiplicity and modularity. His works frequently explore the ideas of repetition, interaction, chance and change. To look into the new dimensions that the digital world can create in the physical space he primarily works with technology, light, music and space. He uses these elements not only as tools but also likes to draw from the broader cultural context that connects them to the popular culture and entertainment, which originates in his own involvement with the electronic music scene and background in engineering.
The artworks he creates often introduce surprising and playful overlaps between the physical and the digital into the public space, where they are confronted with large audiences. His works are not meant to be shown in the traditional space of the white cube, but rather in crowded streets, outdoor festivals or open landscapes where they become a subject to various influences, where they can not only be looked at but also touched and played with. The element of participation is in fact often inherent to the design of Vorwerk’s installations, which are completed with the engagement of the public. Their organic character allows them to continuously change and always be influenced by the context in which they are placed.
