6/24/2009
I'm in the midst of producing a proposal for a Japanese architectural competition that focuses on spatial perception in the age of cinema. Essentially the brief asks you to invent a design that forgoes the photograph as the primary means of architectural documentation in favor of the moving image. I'm in the early stages of formulating my proposal, and am undertaking the necessary research into precedents. I've been thinking a lot about mirrors, shadows and screens, and some of the things I've been coming across have been very beautiful, especially the work of the Dutch artist Germaine Kruip.
If you live in New York and follow fashion-y things, you might know Kruip's work from her beguiling permanent installation at the Jil Sander Store on Crosby at Howard. The installation consists of a series of floor-to-ceiling motorized louvers installed in front of the store's marble switchback stair, lacquered white on one side and mirrored on the other. The slender louvers' movements are staggered, and they produce a simple but beautiful rippling effect upon approach, reflecting both the viewer's image and the space of the store behind her.
I researched Kruip's work and found a host of images of her installations, all of which use simple motorized components, lights and mirrors to produce striking disruptions to one's perception of a "fixed" space.
Below are two examples of her working tactics.
For more on Kruip's work, see:
http://www.theapproach.co.uk/artists/kruip/1

