[...] The exterior appearance was plain– a sleek, seamless black wall that nearly spanned the entire lofty space. A silver crank handle and a small, clear, rectangular box encasing a pickle were the only ornaments. Clamped by wires on both sides, the pickle began to spark and light up as the handle was turned. Moments later, a halting melody churned out from the other side of the wall.
A journey through the maze-like interior of the melody’s physical architecture began when you infiltrated the entrances to the box, tucked away on either side. The artists created a series of small musical chambers connected by sharp turns, stairs, and an orange slide, producing curious textures of sound that played in sync, united in a single song. An old accordion hummed in a blue velvet room designed by Ranjit Bhatnagar. Draped with delicate strings of tiny white lights, it hung by a rope and pulley from the ceiling like a chandelier, playing itself with each rotation. [...]
– pp74-75, Sculpture 12/2006, International Sculpture Center
“On March 25th, 2006 the Flux Factory space in Long Island City was transformed into a giant, interactive music box.
“A group of seven sound artists, musicians, and sculpture/installation artists gathered together by Flux Factory have created kinetic sculptures that all work together to play a single song. Viewers activate the box with a crank. Inside the Box, a veritable funhouse of sound can be discovered in each artist’s contribution to the overall song. The viewer becomes an active participant in the experience, subtly altering the song produced.” –flux factory
There’s a nice review of the Fluxbox in the June issue of the Brooklyn Rail.
The FluxBox, which was on view at the Flux Factory in Queens from March 25 to April 29, triggered a greater feeling of suspense than your everyday automata. Not because it was a room-sized version of something that usually fits in your hand, but because the only visible part of the box from the entrance was the crank, and the crank was wired to a kosher pickle. more…
- Bethany Ryker
–The New Yorker, April 24, 2006
My class’s band Mister Resistor played a noisy and inspiring gig at the Flux Factory tonight.
Error: Path is not secure or does not exist [/]!more photos at fluxfactory.org
more photos by Catherine Eaman
Time Out New York has a nice preview of our fluxbox installation.
Music boxes are typically small, delicate items, but imagine creating one large enough to walk through. The Flux Factory, a Queens-based nonprofit exhibition space and artists collective/habitat, has done just that with its latest installation, FluxBox. Instead of a standard “tooth and comb” apparatus, however, seven acoustic sculptures produce the show’s simple 16-bar melody. more…