Munich-based concept artist Tom Schmelzer has proposed inserting a moving segment into an overhead walkway at the Hamburger Bahnhof museum for contemporary art in Berlin, Germany.
With sound effects to simulate the sound of an avalanche, the project, called Out of Joint, is inspired by the turmoil on the financial markets.
The following is from Tom Schmelzer:
--
How do you transform the current temblor on the financial markets into art for a public space?
Tom Schmelzer’s project-sketch is an architectural intervention for the Hamburger Bahnhof – the Museum for Contemporary Art in Berlin, Germany. It is designed for the walkway from the main building to the Rieckhallen, an adjacent exhibitions hall.
The title of the work „Such movements are unprecedented in history“ reflects on a statement made earlier this year by a broker of the Chicago Board of Trade.
A hydraulically operated, moving and floating segment is integrated into the walkway. In addition sound effects resembling the intensive, low-pitched rumbling of an avalanche or landslide can be heard. A sound that is experienced physically. Together with the shaking it leaves the visitor with an impression of deep uneasiness.
Movement and sound are controlled by a motion detector set off by people passing through the walkway.
Munich-based Tom Schmelzer is a concept artist who uses unique aesthetics in his illusionary sculptures and moving objects to comment on critical developments in everyday life.
Schmelzer's seductive sculptures immediately capture our attention, a task that is becoming increasingly difficult in the twenty-first century. He does this by moving past the aesthetic neutrality of previous conceptual art and reinforcing his appealing objects with sound conceptual statements.