05.04.06 Arabesk 24, abstract narrative perception.
Arabesk 24 by Gijs van Bon can be assimilated to the artistic works that in the 20s were categorized as 'Kinetic Art', and defined by Bruno Munari and Umberto Eco as "a plastic art genre where the forms, colors and planes movements is the medium to obtain a fickle whole". On the other hand this movement want to escape a mere dynamic cataloguing, reclaiming abstract narrative ambitions, through the mechanical units anthropomorphization and their interaction among them and with the user. Extending the work to a more structured perception give more relevance to the the physical and dynamic perception, compared to the formal construct and to the environment contextual interaction. In this perspective it doesn't matter that the object is contextualized. On the contrary the object exists anyway as a creation. It can be infinitely interpreted by the observer, as a fantastic representation that assumes the respective given identity. Technically speaking Arabesk 24 is made by five white panels, that move together thanks to some motors activated by sensors. So the spectator wanders within a choreography, and he in the end becomes part of it, because of its involuntary ability of activating the sensors. Assuming the role of the movements source, the individual is appointed as co-author. The work then can be defined quoting Umberto Eco: "it becomes 'open' because it defines a genre formed by a constellation of elements with a mutual interaction. This interaction is made to enable the observer to reveal - through a range of interpretations - different possible combinations and to effectively intervene modifying the reciprocal modification of elements."
Francesca Tomassini