Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia)
What (form):
It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of coloured glass in the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia. It would be made of hand blown venetian glass, every single pipe in a different colour of the RGB colour chart. One could not play music on the pipe organ. It would, in fact, not be a real pipe organ, but more of a big model of a pipe organ (it is more about the pipes, than the piano-part of an organ- in fact I am planning on producing a very reduced, almost abstract version of an organ). The size of the organ would be about twenty times the size of an average pipe organ as known in a regular church; about 50m x 36m x 18m.
Effects:
The sunlight breaking in the glass draws sparkling fields of colour on the white salt. The RGB colours are an additive colour model in which red, green and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colours.
What (content):
The big pending coloured glass pipe organ in the Uyuni desert is both, psychedelic and religious. The big coloured glass pipe organ is easy to understand, even more because it is pending, this makes the elevated reference to something god-like obvious. It only works with the light of the sun (although I like the idea of the big pending coloured glass pipe organ by night as well, it is probably more psychedelic in the dark). It is important that it all takes place in the white salt desert, because the whole installation is very much about reflection and light. Anything different then a white surface would not work for it is important to see the true colour of the light. The music- the most important part of a musical instrument, is not discussed in the installation at all; it might play a role in the spectators imagination of course.
Difficulties:
-To keep the organ pending, it is hollow and filled with helium (think about a zeppelin). But since I would like the pending organ to be a permanent installation, I would have to work that out more precisely. I do insist on the organ to be pending in the Uyuni salt desert, therefore it is no solution to hang it or to put it on a foot. -Another difficulty for the realization of the pending coloured glass pipe organ is to get a building licence in the Uyuni salt desert. -And last but not least it is a very expensive project to realize. Approximate realization:
I am currently producing a small model of the coloured glass pipe organ. It is 25cm x 18 cm x 90cm and made of very light glass fibre. I am not going to have it pending, but put on a small steel foot. It will be shown in a group show in Berlin this summer. It will be placed inside a room and the colour reflections will not be on sand but on walls and the floor and the light source is lamps instead of sun light.
Big Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ (Unrealized, Mai 2011) (50m x 36m x 18m Pending Coloured Glass Pipe Organ, Uyuni salt desert, Bolivia)
What (form):
It has long since been an idea of mine to build a big pending pipe organ out of coloured glass in the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia. It would be made of hand blown venetian glass, every single pipe in a different colour of the RGB colour chart. One could not play music on the pipe organ. It would, in fact, not be a real pipe organ, but more of a big model of a pipe organ (it is more about the pipes, than the piano-part of an organ- in fact I am planning on producing a very reduced, almost abstract version of an organ). The size of the organ would be about twenty times the size of an average pipe organ as known in a regular church; about 50m x 36m x 18m.
Effects:
The sunlight breaking in the glass draws sparkling fields of colour on the white salt. The RGB colours are an additive colour model in which red, green and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colours.
What (content):
The big pending coloured glass pipe organ in the Uyuni desert is both, psychedelic and religious. The big coloured glass pipe organ is easy to understand, even more because it is pending, this makes the elevated reference to something god-like obvious. It only works with the light of the sun (although I like the idea of the big pending coloured glass pipe organ by night as well, it is probably more psychedelic in the dark). It is important that it all takes place in the white salt desert, because the whole installation is very much about reflection and light. Anything different then a white surface would not work for it is important to see the true colour of the light. The music- the most important part of a musical instrument, is not discussed in the installation at all; it might play a role in the spectators imagination of course.
Difficulties:
-To keep the organ pending, it is hollow and filled with helium (think about a zeppelin). But since I would like the pending organ to be a permanent installation, I would have to work that out more precisely. I do insist on the organ to be pending in the Uyuni salt desert, therefore it is no solution to hang it or to put it on a foot. -Another difficulty for the realization of the pending coloured glass pipe organ is to get a building licence in the Uyuni salt desert. -And last but not least it is a very expensive project to realize. Approximate realization:
I am currently producing a small model of the coloured glass pipe organ. It is 25cm x 18 cm x 90cm and made of very light glass fibre. I am not going to have it pending, but put on a small steel foot. It will be shown in a group show in Berlin this summer. It will be placed inside a room and the colour reflections will not be on sand but on walls and the floor and the light source is lamps instead of sun light.