CAUSE AND EFFECT

Douglas Repetto and Shadi Nazarian at the UB Center for the Arts Gallery

The UB Center for the Arts Gallery currently juxtaposes two dynamic installations that explore possibilities of existing technologies. Douglas Repetto, a pioneer of DIY technologies, weaves a whimsical array of chain reactions scattered across the space in his action at a distance and everything all at once. In contrast, in the open two-story lightwell, Shadi Nazarian’s Introversion beckons quietly with an artificial green glow. Both use sensing technologies that entice viewers to be a part of the interactive performance.

Repetto sets the stage with a web of ropes and pulleys that are linked to eccentric contraptions. These include scattered hanging bells, a floating windowpane with artificial fireflies, a box over a wooden stump, a wood circular plank with an attached wheel. Amid the maze of ropes, three thin stands with a “PUFF” engraved on a metal plate are highlighted by spotlights. Blow and the tangled web comes alive. Each individual stand sets in motion a series of delocalized actions throughout the gallery. The bells ring in the distance. Fireflies shake in midair. And an illusion of a cat that walks compulsively in circles is conjured. With a bit of detective work, viewers can follow the path of the ropes to their effects.

In a hidden corner, a dolley slides beneath a curtained, dark room in everything at once. The eyes have trouble focusing in the darkness. Then, in a sudden convulsion of cacophony, the room is awash a phosphlorescent light. The viewer is bombarded by both sound and vision, with bells shaking and mirrors reflecting light. Then the lights go out and the everything is still again. The eyes, refocusing in the darkness, begin once again to make out the contours of the ceiling—and are interrupted when the cacophony resumes.

As the he or she navigates Repetto’s labyrinth, the viewer approaches Nazarian’s site-specific piece, a long sculpture that hovers above the floor and stretches vertically toward the ceiling. The simple form of the sculpture frames a long, slender piece of glass. Viewers are drawn toward the green light filtering through the glass, like moths drawn to a flame. Moving closer to the piece, however, the window turns opaque. The spectator is caught in an intermediate state, where the transparency has suddenly become enclosed and the view denied. In moments, the glass is again transparent. The green glow continues to spill out.

The back of Nazarian’s installation is exposed. Here, viewers see two frames. First, the ribs of the sculpture give a direct reading of the structural framing. Second, the glass reframes the view back into the gallery of Repetto’s installation and any incoming gallery visitors. However, despite the exposed nature of the piece, the mechanism for the changing window remains elusive. The clear glass also shifts from transparency to opacity. In addition, viewers from the second floor can trigger the piece, adding to the dynamic interplay between the viewer and the frame.

The secret to the window is a liquid crystal film that sits between two layers of glass. When the crystals are “off,” the crystals scatter and diffuse light, creating an opaue screen. When “on,” the crystals align and allow transparency through the film. This liquid, a technology that has been available for seven years, has been advertised for use in partitions, display cases and enclosures for conference rooms. These applications create a separation between public and private.

Introversions plays with this sense of public and private. It engages the spectator in a subtle shift of perspective and a sudden awareness of space. Part of Nazarian’s interest is to imagine a continuous perceptual play within an urban context: “Imagine this applied to an urban setting, where you have multiple levels of engagement at different scales along the street.” Others have also noticed these possibilities, as Stephanie Rothenberg, an artist who also teaches at UB, commented: “It reminds me of the industrial spaces of Williamsburg, a gentrified part of New York City. Many people now live in these industrial spaces. What separates people from the outside many times is just a piece of glass. I can imagine this sort of intervention in this area.”

Like many contemporary architects and artists, Repetto and Nazarian evince an interest in existing technologies, appropriating and reimagining these technologies in their practice. They both emphasize interdisciplinary research, where artist and architect look for inspiration from and work with engineers and manufacturers in the design and fabrication process. However, their constrasting methods of construction—Repetto’s homemade quality against Nazarian’s minimalist architectural sculpture—create a highly charged juxtaposition.

The exhibition will be on view at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts Gallery, UB North Campus (ubartgalleries.buffalo.edu) through May 17.

—albert chao