Choreographic installation...

1:54 p.m.

17/10/18 - Nine chairs in various objects move rhythmically or chase a visitor: this is the choreographic installation conceived by Urs Fischer (Switzerland, 1973) at the Gagosian Gallery in New York.

Play, thus it's title, was a treat for hundreds of kids and adults who had great fun with the dancing office chairs. Each of these objects was controlled by a software, which included a choreography and sensors to perceive close presences. So they would chase a visitor or move harmoniously creating lines or circles.

As it was not allowed to touch them or sit on them, the installation invited us to move around and be surprised by their reaction, as if we were creating their dance moves.

Play, by Urs Fischer

Gagosian Gallery

If we consider this in the traditional way, Play is a sculture/objet that responds to the observer in a certain space, unlike the motionless pieces usually found in museums that we look closely, sometimes even moving around. In this case it's the object the one that moves around the observer.

Play, by Urs Fischer

Gagosian Gallery

What is Play then? A performance? An electronic choreography? What we can say is that this is an experiment that considers the relationship between the visitor and the artwork. It's funny that the installation uses chairs: seating arrangements are very common in museums, as a place to rest or to contemplate a painting for some time. These ones, as in a fairy tale, come to life...