ICC
"Juggler"
1997
Gregory BARSAMIAN
Juggler
photo: OHTAKA Takashi

The objects thrown into the air, and the jugglers themselves, are connected to the cylindrical frame and revolve on it and are visible to the eye only when the blinking strobe flashes on. Consequently, these motionless objects are endowed with time, like an animation, and you will see a virtual "moving" spectacle.

In this ICC-commissioned work, each juggler forever repeats the juggling, where the receiver thrown into the air goes through a transformation to milk bottle, milk, dice, bone and finally to a parachute that returns to the juggler. This work represents BARSAMIAN's key agenda, the hope and conflict between humanity and machines. With mechanical repetition and afterimage effect, he has created dreamlike images that escape from the logic or certainty by using 19th century optical devices and rotating three-dimensional sculptures.

Gregory BARSAMIAN Profile

Influenced by Jungian psychology, BARSAMIAN has been recording fragments of his dreams with a tape recorder since 1983. His work is created from the database of these dreams, and appears like a scene in a dream. Various motifs taken from his dreams widely range from the personal to the universal, including daily life, contemporary culture, primitive images, socio-political irony, and humor. He is currently living in New York.

Past Exhibition / Event
Keyword: Animation

Various visual devices, including the zoetrope, which projects motion pictures if you look through a slot at the spinning hollow drum with its strip of pictures, were invented in the 19th century. The phenomenon of still images becoming animated amazed people of those days, leading to the development of movies and other media that are so important in the visual culture of today. Currently, computer applications contribute to more efficient modification and editing, while motion capture devices enable the emulation of actual movement.