Monday, March 7, 2022
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Jakop Barn’s day trip
Jakop Barn’s day trip
2019
Video object, 78x55x24/66 cm
HD time-lapse video, aluminum suitcase, two screens 70/40,
R.berryPi`s
Edit: Palosaari/Ziegler
In early autumn I had been falling in love with Jakops barn
a lofty and tranquil structure that I came upon during a stay at the Kone
residence place located in Mynämäki in the Southwest of
Finland. During several days I experimented with different options to document
the play between interior and changing sunlight with time-lapse cameras. The
footage that originated from this study is now on display in form of an opened
aluminum travel case. The downer part displays the camera view of the sunbeams
slowly advancing on the wooden floorboards while the upper part shows the
specks of sunlight penetrating the open panel structure of the open space.
The recorded time encompasses the play of
light and shadow happening during six hours and is shown in a sequence of 8
min.
Tectonic sextet
Tectonic sextet
2019
260x170x110
Two chairs, a stool and a table
Concrete cast on steel mesh, video mapped footage
Mapping by: Ilkka Pitkänen
The Work displays individual video footage taking while
working to break a bathroom floor due to a water accident. Two jackhammers
simultaneous breaking the concrete and revealing step by step the underlying
structure.
The footage is than video mapped onto a series of furniture
pieces that are made of the very same material. The installation of concrete
plates that were molded into steel mesh refers to the working process while
elevating the working surface towards a resting place.
The nature of walls
The nature of walls
2019
HD video
00:06:23
performers: Marja Patrikainen &Thomas Westphal
camera: Thomas Westphal
edit and composition: Sebastian Ziegler
The video is compost of seven different videos displaying
the demolition of walls. Each individual wall had been pre painted with chroma green
paint. This allowed me to designate these areas in the editing process to be
transparent. I layered the individual footage behind each other. In the process
of overlapping breaking activity the video creates a frenzy of different compositions.
Paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
2019
HD video 3:33 min
Two channel video installation,
The video shows a dense clowd of black and white shapes that slowly dance across the walls and slowly desolve into single particels. The footage was shot while working with a jackhammer on an old bath tub. The white surface is the emalie and the black colour comes from the iron oxide. What was in the making a earsplitting brutal exercise turned into a mesmerizing hypnotic dance.
2019
HD video 3:33 min
Two channel video installation,
The video shows a dense clowd of black and white shapes that slowly dance across the walls and slowly desolve into single particels. The footage was shot while working with a jackhammer on an old bath tub. The white surface is the emalie and the black colour comes from the iron oxide. What was in the making a earsplitting brutal exercise turned into a mesmerizing hypnotic dance.
Vanishing Point
Vanishing point
2019
HD video, duration 00:06:42
In the video I had to remove a big wall section between to
offices. By just placing camera and blue light in one of these rooms and
starting the breaking job this video was created. I have done similar works by
painting walls with chromatic green to remove a background from the subject of
a photo or video, allowing separately filmed background footage or a static image
to be inserted into the scene.
This one I like because of its simplicity and powerful
visual feel.
Wax on Wax off
Wax on Wax off
2019
2 channel video
I was building a set of machines in my studio that are
inspired by early methods of mechanical movements and transition. These
machines are idling ahead and performing tirelessly repeating motions.
I took video of this set up and projected it here on the
gallery wall. The wall was painted black but during the opening I painted
certain areas to drive these shy creatures in the light.
Delete all duplicates
Delete all duplicates
2019
Video object
Table, projection, screws
190x120x50 cm
I got this idea for this work while preparing for a studio
visit of 28 students from the Art academy. I was mend to let the students see how
artist work in practice and to see different working methods. It’s a fact that
many ideas originate from very banal activities such as sorting through
material like a big box of screws that had to be sorted out. I created a
setting to record this video and had everybody help with the sorting. This was
done in 8 min. and interesting footage was created.
The video is projected on a table with the exact measurements
of the original sorting area.
Extension
Extension
2019
HD video
Duration 00:08:21
The video has been taking in the late autumn in the marina in Lapland. Against a romantic evening setting we can observe construction machines building a wave breaker. On an absurdly small path of piled up stones the machines tireless advance their path into the sea.
2019
HD video
Duration 00:08:21
The video has been taking in the late autumn in the marina in Lapland. Against a romantic evening setting we can observe construction machines building a wave breaker. On an absurdly small path of piled up stones the machines tireless advance their path into the sea.
Wall Licker
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Come away with me in the night
" Come away with me in the night "
2018
kinetic light sculpture
Motor system, drywall with window, black
marabou feather boas, blue light, van, cut flowers, night sounds
The visitor enters a darkened space; its only light source is a barred window emanating moonlight, the faint scent of flowers and night sounds. Approaching the window one realizes that the bars are made by slowly moving strings of black feathers. Does one dare to push its face through this barrier to go out in the night?
video under: https://vimeo.com/290042087
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Chroma Key
Chroma key
2017
HD video
Duration 03:54
https://vimeo.com/213145845
Chroma key is a recent work that deals with the dichotomy of two realities that I am experiencing as artist. Usually my time is stretched between artistic work at my studio and work at construction sites for pure economic reasons. As sculptor I find a lot of beauty in materials and working processes that often flow in and out my working practice. In my artwork I often find the need to modify gallery space to my needs and apply same materials and skills from the alter universe. When I face an exhibition the location is an important aspect that I take into account while planning and creating the artwork. Lately I just love to cut the knot between the two worlds and blur the boundaries between art and labor.
I visited the working place early in the morning before the work starts and set up the lights, camera equipment in front of walls that according to he architectural drawings have to be removed. I paint in these areas in Chroma key green. This technique has been use in movies to remove a background from the subject of a photo or video a color range. The green foreground footage is made transparent, allowing separately filmed background footage or a static image to be inserted into the scene.
We trash the wall while being filmed. The footage I gain is inspiring to work with.
It brings planners, designers, developers and workers to wonder about the unique quality of their own work and of the built environment.
Drummers: Niklas Faupel, Son Pham.
Breaking by: Thomas Westphal and Marja Patrikainen.
Editing: Sari Palosaari and Sebastian Ziegler
When Gravity Fails
When gravity fails
2016
video kinetic object
steel, screens, motors, electronics
https://vimeo.com/201820021
The work explores playful interaction between object and image. The two
video screens show a person engaged in freestyle football. His balancing skills
make the ball spin effortless in the air.2016
video kinetic object
steel, screens, motors, electronics
https://vimeo.com/201820021
The displays themselves serve as counter weights of a ceiling mounted apparatus that keeps them in equilibrium. Motors give small impulses to shift the balance from side to side.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Peripheral
Peripheral
2015
210x210x4cm
video-kinetic object
Wood, diamonds, motors, animation
210x210x4cm
video-kinetic object
Wood, diamonds, motors, animation
https://vimeo.com/148131403
The Video kinetic object “Peripheral” consists of a
motorized diamond studded ring that slowly rotates and a video projected
animation. The hand drawn animation is based on motion studies of an athlete
performing in a German wheel. The German wheel is an athletic devise, namely a
free moving aluminum ring that allows the athlete to spin and rotate using his
or hers own gravity and momentum for speed and motion.
For me as a sculptor it has been of greater interest because
it also resembles a sort of vitruvien study of the space a human can physically
inhabit. When the projected animation reaches the outer boundaries of the
circle the projected light sends a sparkle of light reflections bouncing off
from the diamond studs.
Yo Bro
Yo Bro
2015
Video-kinetic object
Motors, monitors, custom shield, Arduino, synchronized Raspberry Pi, metal, aluminum
Video-kinetic object
Motors, monitors, custom shield, Arduino, synchronized Raspberry Pi, metal, aluminum
https://vimeo.com/148069927
Yo Bro what's up! How you doing? A handshake is a form of non-verbal
communication. The handshake is thought by some to have originated as a gesture
of peace by demonstrating that the hand holds no weapon. Two screens running on
a sliding rail system approach and distance themselves from each other. At the
moment of overlapping the hands engage in a delicate dance of intertwining
moves.
Electronic expertise by Gregoire Rousseau
Video software and coding by Eetu Huhtala
Handshake performance by Jakob Johannson and Felipe de Avila
Iconics and Beats
Iconics and Beats
2015
HD video
duration 06:21
In the video “Iconics and beats” we observe a group of people engaged in a
game of gestures. Based on a German drinking game the participants count up to
21 whereby each number is combined with a certain gesture. These gestures grow
in complexity during each cycle the game is replayed.
Performers, left to right, Uli Westphal, Kai Weitenberg, Kristen Cooper, Jan Westphal
2015
HD video
duration 06:21
https://vimeo.com/128838362
Performers, left to right, Uli Westphal, Kai Weitenberg, Kristen Cooper, Jan Westphal
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Condencing facts from the ripple of nuances
2013
Video/ kinetic installation
I Pad, 23”W TFT Color LCD screen, pumps, dc motors, steel,
Plexiglas, water, typographical material
computer,audio speakers and custom software
Video is unquestionable the most strongest (captivating) media in fine arts today but the enchantment of a moving image burns hot and short. I work with this media from a very strong sculptural perspective. I have been searching for a ways that video could enrich my work and decided that the combination of moving image and kinetic sculpture provides an interesting angle.
Kinetic art had its prime time in the 50th and 60th and has
been considerable dormant for a long time after that. Lately it seems that many
young sculptors are starting to pick up on kinetics again. One reason for that
is the rapid development of user friendly soft and hardware components as well
as the low costs to purchase electronically components to experiment with. Also
artists like myself have developed their own kind of “Gypsy technology” whereby
we cannibalize existing consumer electronics to make them useable in our art
projects. It is possible to learn the basics in short time and find net
communities that provide help and inspiration. Being independent from industry
and outside expertise and the straight application to ones work make it fairly
easy to integrate ideas of movement, light and sound to ones working process.
VIDEOKAFFE has been playroom for likeminded artist that challenged,
cooperated, inspired and pushed each other into create something new and
surprising.
Personally this unique exhibition concept has been one
thrilling experience and I owe big time to the collaborating colleges as well
as to Sebastian Ziegler the Curator of this event,
Starting point
for my work was an application for a smart phone. I have to say that I was a
baby in this field and a prepaid phone of the most modest design had been
sufficient for me. Suddenly finding myself in possession of this sophisticated
gizmo, I searched for ways to make it work to my benefit and make my live
easier.
As German having moved to Finland its naturally the language
that creates boundaries.
So I was quite interested in this field. I found an
application (no advertisement but you can find the name in the appendix) that
recognizes printed words using optical character recognition and instantly
translates these words into the desired language.
The words are displayed in the original context on the
original background, and the translation is performed in real-time without
connection to the Internet.
Once the program has identified letters, it calculates their
rotation and the perspective from which the viewer is seeing them. Then it
tries to recognize each letter by consulting a library of reference font sets.
(This application was created to help tourists understand signs and menus, and
is not 100% accurate). It’s a bit like starting to type into the goggle search
field and with every added letter you get the suggestion of “ Do you mean
this?”
At one day I was sitting at the waterfront of the marina in
Vuosaari, killing time browsing to my apps and in a playful attempt I activated
the upper mentioned app and directed the built-in camera of the phone to the
sea. Sun was shining and a mild wind was rippling the surface of the water. A
lot of contrast that day between the tops and valleys of the waves.
Suddenly the program was trying to read meaning to the
random noise of the waves and words popped up in the display. The oracle like
messages in the water mesmerized me for hours. This happened because the
program runs the image through a filter to remove shadows. Text is sharp, so it
removes whatever is not sharp and makes the image black and white, to help
figure out where letters are. Still, these are black and white contrast that
may or may not be letters. The unpredictable game is on. For VIDEOKAFFE I
wanted to recreate a version of this captivating experience.
The original idea was to have a high-resolution wifi cam
scanning the water surface of the nearby Aurajoki canal and have the program
running its results by way of a beamer.
Time and budget were not favorable at this point so I
decided to go for a more sculptural laboratory setting.
The Plexiglas pool (60x90x10 cm) inside the gallery contains
app.40 liters of water.
Two pumps and two additional dc motor powered paddles kept
the water in motion.
Hovering above is an adjustable arm that is holding an I
tablet running the application
Its camera lens is pointed down at the pools water surface.
The Tablet is linked by a hdtv cable to a wall mounted flat screen that shows
its interface in bigger scale.
This set up was a purely theoretical approach and the
results were meager.
What nature is really good at is to deliver a lot of visual
noise and my little pool could not match it.
The next step I took was to add submersible plastic letters
floating in the water.
These were partly traced but clogged the pump filtration
system and collected in certain areas. Next approach was to have silicon molded
floating letters. This created surprising results especially because the
constant moving water surface distorted the textual content. The program now is
running in a Mode that tries to translate from English into German. I hope that
you can enjoy the results at this stage and I will surprise you with a more
sophisticated version in near future but for now its Videokaffe -its fresh from
the oven.
So having tried to explain my approach towards the
underlying concept of the exhibition and the way this work developed I have to
point out an additional aspect. The work at this particular exhibition had a
soundscape that was created by the brasilian artis Fernando Visockis Macedo.
This is his statement :
“My work is created, imagined and thought over sound. How to
search for hidden sounds surrounding us and amplify it aesthetically; how to
bring different sounds to the field of visuality; how to affect the spectators
perception by playing and sculpting with such an abstract rich full material?
My research is then, in a wider sense, really close to
translation somehow. That's why when Thomas first told me his idea about the
installation, I could, on the very first moment, see a breach for adding a new
layer without changing the concept of the work abruptly: translating into sound
the same material that is being used for generating the text.For that I
developed a code for Pure Data that seeks for the pixels with most luminance in
a live webcam pointed to plexiglass. The ripples of the water keep on changing
these pixels with most luminance, generating a great input for manipulating a
synthesizer and for a sound sample collected from a water stream back in my
country, translating a simple light variation into an abstract moving
soundscape, a generative sound piece that reinforces and adds new context to
the installation.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
KEKKU
Kekku
2013
Video/kinetic Installation
3 Screens, 3 Blueray players, DC Motor, Steel
300x60x40 cm
The work KEKKU was made for the exhibition “Terveisiä perheestä” (Greetings from the family), that took place at Gallery Huuto in August 2013. The exhibition dealt with issues revolving around family and the protagonists in the video footage are my wife, our daughter and I.
The video shows certain body parts of us sitting on a swing. The vertical aliened screens show us swinging together. The whole set up itself swings back and forward by a DC motor.
The video footage is of different length and generates constantly surprising twists especially because the image freezes for some second in the end of the loop.
While we were shooting the scene we also realized that it actually was the first time that all three of us were on the playground together. It dont mean a thing if it aint got the swing.
2013
Video/kinetic Installation
3 Screens, 3 Blueray players, DC Motor, Steel
300x60x40 cm
The work KEKKU was made for the exhibition “Terveisiä perheestä” (Greetings from the family), that took place at Gallery Huuto in August 2013. The exhibition dealt with issues revolving around family and the protagonists in the video footage are my wife, our daughter and I.
The video shows certain body parts of us sitting on a swing. The vertical aliened screens show us swinging together. The whole set up itself swings back and forward by a DC motor.
The video footage is of different length and generates constantly surprising twists especially because the image freezes for some second in the end of the loop.
While we were shooting the scene we also realized that it actually was the first time that all three of us were on the playground together. It dont mean a thing if it aint got the swing.
Hand on Wire
-->
Hand On Wire
http://vimeo.com/67590727
2012
Video/kinetic sculpture
Motors, plasma TV, 16 m rail system, metal construction, HD
box
2x HD video footage, vertical and horizontal filmed
Duration of single clip 02:40 min
-filmed at Suvilahti, Helsinki and Temppeliaukio, Helsinki
Performers; Thomas Westphal, Niklas Faupel
Electronical Expertise: Gregoire Rousseau
Mechanical Support: Federico Ortegon Perez
The starting point for this
work was video material that I shoot in summer 2011 at the Suvilahti industrial
ground and at Oksasenkatu in Töölö. Because of the different nature of these
places the format was chosen to be vertical (Töölös narrow tall streetscapes)
and horizontal (Suvilahtis wide industrial scenery). In both locations we see a
hand ropewalking electricity lines between buildings.
The videos are shown on a
large plasma screen that moves along a 16 m long rail system from one side of
the gallery wall to the other. In the end points the screen rotates from
vertical to horizontal position and vice versa. Actually this unusual twist
originated from the fact that I work with video from the perspective as a sculptor.
While shooting the video material on site I did not consider yet that the
horizontal/vertical shift would become a difficulty later on. After all I am
quite satisfied that the solution to this problem
became an important aspect of
the final work.
The distance of the rail system is corresponding to
the distance of the original settings. Also the pace of the moving hand in the
video image matches the speed of the moving screen. I used two different motor
systems, one for the spatial movement and the other for the smooth rotation of
the screen. A motivating idea behind the installation was a playful concern with space. It became a stage on witch the activities may it be musical or physical performed. What I brought to the space was actually an object installation that was formally constructed through the filter of documenting. The relationship with time, bringing one thing to another, how the exhibition space acts not only as a space as a time dimension as a document somehow.
Vertigo en el corazón- Vertigo in the heart
-->
Vertigo en el corazón- Vertigo in the heart
https://vimeo.com/68515329
2012
Video/kinetic sculpture
Motors, video projector, HD box, metal construction, wind
engines
2x HD video footage (GoPro action cameras, body strapped)
Duration of single clip 02:45 min/ 00.06 min
-filmed at Alexanderplatz, Berlin
Base-jump and camera: Uli Westphal
Electronical support: Gregoire Rousseau
The starting point for this work was video material that I shoot in Berlin in September 2012. My location was the 120meter high Park Inn Hotel at the Alexanderplatz in the heart of the city.
The video consists of a skyline view of Berlin and a base-jump sequence. All video was shoot with handheld and body strapped/helmet mounted Gopro HD cameras.
For displaying the video I was building a projection screen (224x124cm) with a steady mounted video projector at the end of a cone shaped 3-meter extension. This whole segment is hanging on ball bearing hinges mounted to a solid steel foundation. The screen is motor controlled and can be moved from vertical 90° to 180° angel. It happens in regular intervals that are set by relays and two different timing devises.
In the vertical position it shows the skyline of Berlin with the remarkable TV Tower. The video is slightly shaking and protruding steel elements and cables in the image give a hint to the viewer that it is taking from some sort of platform or building roof. Two strong wind engines behind the screen create a slightly unsettling atmosphere. Every 01:40 min the screen goes into almost 180° position. During this process it shows the perspective of a person free falling down the building facade. (In this case my brother Uli Westphal, that filmed this with body strapped cameras). The jump was professional supervised.
The two video files 02:45 and 00:06 min are played from HD box and are triggered by sensors in the mainframe. The work has been running over a period of 2 weeks and worked flawless during this time. On request of visitors the interval time was changed from original 4 min down to 3 min and finally to 1:50 min which seems to be the common border of visitors patience.
The video consists of a skyline view of Berlin and a base-jump sequence. All video was shoot with handheld and body strapped/helmet mounted Gopro HD cameras.
For displaying the video I was building a projection screen (224x124cm) with a steady mounted video projector at the end of a cone shaped 3-meter extension. This whole segment is hanging on ball bearing hinges mounted to a solid steel foundation. The screen is motor controlled and can be moved from vertical 90° to 180° angel. It happens in regular intervals that are set by relays and two different timing devises.
In the vertical position it shows the skyline of Berlin with the remarkable TV Tower. The video is slightly shaking and protruding steel elements and cables in the image give a hint to the viewer that it is taking from some sort of platform or building roof. Two strong wind engines behind the screen create a slightly unsettling atmosphere. Every 01:40 min the screen goes into almost 180° position. During this process it shows the perspective of a person free falling down the building facade. (In this case my brother Uli Westphal, that filmed this with body strapped cameras). The jump was professional supervised.
The two video files 02:45 and 00:06 min are played from HD box and are triggered by sensors in the mainframe. The work has been running over a period of 2 weeks and worked flawless during this time. On request of visitors the interval time was changed from original 4 min down to 3 min and finally to 1:50 min which seems to be the common border of visitors patience.
Elevated Jam
Elevated Jam
http://vimeo.com/67594577
2012
HD, single channel video on screen
Duration 01:35 min
-filmed at Suvilahti, Helsinki
Performer Son Pham
The video was filmed in the
industrial setting of Suvilahti a former energy production area in Sörnäinen,
Helsinki. It encompasses nine buildings and two large gasometers.
The idea was to explore the
given architecture in an unusual visual and acoustic way.
I was cooperating with three
members of the German progressive metal band TrueFalse
that visited me for two weeks
and put their musical expertise to practice.
In Elevated Jam, the
protagonist Son Pham is drumming on the steel hull of a giant gas clock. During
the play he slowly elevates upwards and with the ascent also the acoustic
properties of the building start to change. Reaching the top not only the
scenery widens up to us but also the perception of the architecture as such.
Live Wire
Live Wire
http://vimeo.com/67599042
2013
HD, single channel video on screen
Duration 03:58
-filmed at Suvilahti, Helsinki
Performer: Tra-My Pham
Sound: Samuli Tanner
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
My heart is a smoking hole in the ground
“My heart is a smoking hole in the ground.”
2011
HD Video
16:9
Duration 06.00 min
A sole survivor of a heavy party night has passed out facedown on a sofa.
Is he happy, lovesick, broke or drifting? One can only speculate about the figure that collapsed in a way that reminded me of a central element of a classical painting composition.
The unarranged human figure stays unknown to the spectator and remains till today unknown to me. The whole scenario is a found situation that was just put into perspective by the chosen camera angle. The rotating reflections of an invisible disco balls and music beats wash over the scenery.
The tempo, pitch and complexity of the sound changes with the rotating reflections that speed up, slow down and reverse. It can be best described as to belong to the “video game genre”, consisting of electronic sounds and drum sound samples it was originally made for a TV show called Ninja for kids. For the video it was further modified.
The music was composed by Samuli Tanner one of the bright young talents of Helsinki’s musical underground and internationally probably best known as one half of the dub step production team Clouds.
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