Plastique Fantastique

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Plastique Fantastique is an artist duo from Berlin , consisting of Marco Canevacci (born March 2, 1970 in Rome , Italy ) and Yena Young (born November 28, 1982 in Seoul , South Korea ).

Since it was founded in 1999, the artist group has been creating oversized, monumental installations made of air and film, with exhibition venues all over the world. They redefine the transitions between architecture , design and art . In 2019 they played in the Venetian pavilion at the 58th Venice Art Biennale .

founding

Plastique Fantastique was founded in Berlin in 1999. After completing his degree in architecture, Marco Canevacci and friends rented a 2000 square meter factory on the banks of the Spree in Berlin-Friedrichshain , on the site of today's Yaam Club , which had been abandoned for a long time . The group became an active part of the Berlin underground scene at the time. Their club “ Deli an der Schillingbrücke ” offered a mix of techno , installations, concerts, cinema, etc.

The group quickly realized that the rented hall was too big to be heated in winter and began to develop strategies to gain warm rooms. Construction foil was the easiest material they could find to make their first hot air bubble. So they started working with pneumatic structures, which led to the creation of Plastique Fantastique.

Their first installation in the club was called "Plastique Fantastique" and later became the stage name of the entire group.

The members at that time were Michael Heim, Pietro Balp, Raffaele Distefano. Today Marco Canevacci and Yena Young work closely with the media artist Marco Barotti and with the sculptor Markus Desert.

Marco Canevacci

Marco Canevacci is a Berlin based artist. He was born in Rome, Italy in 1970 and moved to Berlin in 1991, where he studied architecture (1993–1999) at the Technical University of Berlin .

Since 1999 he has realized large-format installations worldwide under the name Plastique Fantastique.

For Marco Canevacci the magic lies in the fact that his installations can be created within twenty minutes and disappear just as quickly. The installations create an architecture in a public place that only exists for a limited time.

Yena Young

Yena Young is a Berlin based artist. She was born in Seoul, Korea in 1982. She studied Architecture at Yonsei University in Seoul (2001-2006) and Spatial Design at Aalto University , Helsinki , Finland, graduating with a Master of Arts (2008-2012).

She has been an existing member of Plastique Fantastique since 2012.

Content-related topics

The focus of the artistic intention is to expand the experience of the participating viewer. By staging sound, light and architecture, social inhibitions should be dissolved and sensual interaction created.

For Plastique Fantastique an installation is successful when the actors and their movements change the form of the structures (installation), when the actors mix with the inside and outside, the public and the private.

Thus the works serve as catalysts (...), they contribute to the creation of a dialogical, pneumatic and temporary environment.

chosen projects

2020: iSphere

Berlin , Germany

The idea of ​​the iSphere was developed on the basis of an art campaign by the artist duo Plastique Fantastique. These generated tremendous viral media attention in April 2020 as they presented a headgear called iSphere during the corona pandemic . The iconic design of the iSphere is inspired by science fiction comics of the 50s and the creations of the utopian movements of the 60s; it's pop and belongs to all of us.

2019: BLURRY VENICE

58th Venice Art Biennale , Giardini, Venice , Italy

Blurry Venice is a site-specific installation designed for the Venice Pavilion in the Giardini in Venice, on the occasion of the 58th Venice Art Biennale 2019. The installation creates a new space of experience for the participating visitors. The interplay between the architectural pavilion and the work of art creates an illusion of an imaginary landscape.

2018: RINGdeLUXE

Concéntrico Festival , Logroño , Spain

RINGdeLUXE - a glamorous piece of jewelry worn around the building of the former town hall of Logroño, the capital of the Spanish province of La Rioja , which currently houses the Instituto de Estudios Riojanos . The pneumatic structure of striking dimensions quickly reveals its lightness and simplicity. The collective Plastique Fantastique realized this installation as part of the Festival for Architecture and Design Concéntrico, which took place in Logroño from April 27 to May 1, 2018.

2018: THE TAPEWORM

"I AM A PROBLEM" exhibition, Museum of Modern Art , Frankfurt am Main , Germany

Selfie hype, veggie boom, cosmetic surgery and fitness mania - what is our problem? In times of grotesque self-optimization and omnipresent pressure to perform, the exhibition "I AM A PROBLEM" invites you on a furious journey through the plateaus and valleys of human existence. Staged by the highly regarded young director and set designer Ersan Mondtag , a gloomy and at the same time provocative parallel world unfolds in the exhibition space, in which works from the MMK collection become protagonists of a narrative and enter into dialogue with one another (...) A scenic course transforms that MMK 2 in a stage space with winding paths, on which we encounter cross-border and doppelgangers, silent rebels and failed existences. The staged works range from Andy Warhol's "Kellogg's Cornflakes Box" to a new, expansive pneumatic sculpture by Plastique Fantastique to recent acquisitions by the MMK, such as Will Benedict's title-giving music video "I AM A PROBLEM".

Plastique Fantastique Fantastique DER TAPEWURM realized especially for this exhibition. It refers to the legend that the opera singer Maria Callas allegedly swallowed a tapeworm in order to lose weight. The shiny black sculpture winds its way through the exhibition space like a worm, provides insights into the works of art inside and finally opens up as if it wanted to consume the visitors.

2017: LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS

Oerol Festival , Terschelling , Netherlands

LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS is a collage of artists from different fields: dance, music, architecture. The team was put together as an experiment by Kees Lesuis - artistic director of the festival - to create a unique performance on the occasion of the OEROL festival 2017. The temporary space of Plastique Fantastique is monumental and yet mobile, soft and transparent. Its ephemeral skin influences the surroundings just as its interior offers a lucid look to the outside. It is a magical place where dance, music and nature merge and challenge our perception.

The architecture of LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS offers four different stages and was designed taking into account the special position of each individual tree in the area in the Formerum forest on the island of Terschelling . Each element of this site-specific project is integrated into its environment: the first transparent spherical step is pierced by a tree, while the second step (the milky-transparent) is wedged between the branches of the trees and is under the projection of their shadows. The ring that connects the two levels wraps around pine and oak trees and forms the third level in its emptiness. The fourth level is the forest around the installation. Within this constellation, the audience can circulate freely and choose their place in the transparent stage, the milky sphere, the inner circle or the surrounding forest.

These movements are encouraged by the musicians (Der Stolz) and dancers ( LeineRoebana ) who play and perform simultaneously through the different stages. Even the composition ( Kate Moore ) is influenced by unpredictable natural elements such as the chirping of birds, rustling leaves, gusts of wind or raindrops - this is how every performance is unique.

LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS is a joint project by Kate Moore, The Stolz, LeineRoebana and Plastique Fantastique.

2016: superKOLMEMEN

Helsinki Design Week , Helsinki , Finland

superKOLMEMEN is an urban intervention that appears for a week on the occasion of Helsinki Design Week in the center of Helsinki and changes the perception of the place. The everyday life scene that takes place in the square where people pass, sit, walk or drive through is transformed into a playful environment in which one can gather, chat, dance or relax.

2015: BREATHING VOLUME

4 + 4 Days in Motion Festival , Prague , Czech Republic

BREATHING VOLUME is an installation that offers a unique experience by combining dynamic architecture and immersive sound design . She plays with the idea of ​​space in an audio-visual context.

When entering, the audience is embraced for about 5 minutes between breathing walls that are constantly changing their physical volume, creating the perception of being in a living organism. Four synchronized ventilators trigger the dynamics of the sound matrix and the movement of the walls by following the canon of the human lungs. Subwoofers placed inside transform the pulsating bass frequencies into the soul of the organism .

BREATHING VOLUME is a joint project by Plastique Fantastique and Marco Barotti .

2015: LIVEBOAT - CHAPTER FIVE,

48 hours Neukölln Festival , Berlin , Germany

LIVEBOAT - Chapter 5 deals with the ongoing refugee tragedy in front of our borders and offers space for communication and discourse. After a long odyssey, an oversized lifeboat runs ashore at Tempelhof Airport . Inside the boat, multilingual excerpts from Homer's Odyssey and fragments of refugee experiences are interwoven to form a sound carpet.

The installation was on the 26.-28. June. June 2015 on the Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin, Germany. As part of the 48 hours Neukölln Festival.

2014: SOUND OF LIGHT

Urban Lights Ruhr , Hamm , Germany

SOUND of LIGHT is a cooperation between Marco Barotti and Plastique Fantastique for Urban Lights Ruhr 2014 in Hamm. The installation is a synaesthetic sculpture that interprets sunlight and dynamically converts it into sound frequencies. It is a site-specific installation that was designed for the former music pavilion in Hamm, built in 1912 .

A high quality digital camera mounted on top of the structure films the sky and divides it into six colors - RGB and CMY. The six hanging, colored columns of the pneumatic structure - which stand for the primary RGB (red / green / blue) and secondary CMY color models (cyan / magenta / yellow) - are designed in such a way that they receive different frequencies and these from the visible can transform into the audible sensory input. A series of woofers is attached directly to the underside of each column, transforming the entire architecture into one giant vibrating loudspeaker.

SOUND of LIGHT is a composition of hue, saturation and light. By mixing sound and architecture, the audience experiences a unique oneiric reality through the superimposition of colors, shapes, sounds and vibrations . Visitors can also discover their own concert by changing their perspective - an individual spectrum.

2013: AEROPOLIS

Metropolis Festival , Copenhagen , Denmark

AEROPOLIS is a Plastique Fantastique project in collaboration with Københavns International Theater on the occasion of the Metropolis Festival 2013. The architecture of the single-layer, 100 square meter structure was designed to allow maximum mobility and flexibility during the tour through 13 different locations in Copenhagen. In addition, it changes its shape again and again in endless constellations.

2008: SPACE INVADERS

Torstrasse 166, House of Presentation, Berlin, Germany, October 2008

An empty house in Berlin-Mitte - Torstrasse 166 - is being tackled. Pressure and sound waves inflate the existing air into new volumes. New cores develop around the pneumatic covers - creating additional spaces that are accessible or intangible. These newly created spaces become catalysts for emotions, overlay, shift and ultimately exaggerate the existing paths and closed structures. SPACE INVADERS is a joint project by Plastique Fantastique & Architettura Sonora for 'House of Presentation - Torstrasse 166'.

2008: KARL MARX BONSAI

48 hours Neukölln , Berlin, Germany

June 2008.1 trunk, 1 trash can and 3 benches are temporarily merged into a walk-in, inflated structure.

The pot room is experienced, animated and reinforced by sound - the flower catalyzer. The compositions by Lorenzo Brusci and the live acts by Marco Barotti create a vibrating pneumatic sound system. KARL MARX BONSAI is a joint project by Plastique Fantastique & Architettura Sonora for 48 hours Neukölln - 10th art and culture festival.

Chronology of the most important works of art and projects

  • 2020: iSphere, Berlin, Germany
  • 2019: BLURRY VENICE, 58th Venice Art Biennale, Giardini, Venice, Italy
  • 2018: RINGdeLUXE, Concéntrico Festival, Logroño, Spain
  • 2018: DER TAPWURM, “I am a Problem” exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • 2017: LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS, Oerol Festival, Terschelling, Netherlands
  • 2016: superKOLMEMEN, Helsinki Design Week, Helsinki, Finland
  • 2015: BREATHING VOLUME, 4 + 4 Days in Motion Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 2015: LIVEBOAT - CHAPTER FIVE, 48 hours Neukölln Festival, Berlin, Germany
  • 2014: SOUND OF LIGHT, Urban Lights Ruhr, Hamm, Germany
  • 2013: AEROPOLIS, Metropolis Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2008: SPACE INVADERS, Torstrasse 166, House of Presentation. Berlin, Germany
  • 2008: KARL MARX BONSAI, 48 hours Neukölln, Berlin, Germany

Award

  • 2015: 100 Architects of the year: KIA - Korean Institute of Architects UIA - International Union of Architects
  • 2015: 1st prize - Dulux Let's Color Awards 2015: For the installation SOUND of LIGHT Cooperation with Marco Barotti

literature

  • Felgendreher, D. (2018). Soft, sexy, fantastic. Inflating public space. The Journal of Public Space, 3 (2), 41-74, doi: 10.32891 / jps.v3i2.1109
  • Interview with Marco Carnevacci Cate St HillThis is temporary, Riba, London, 2016
  • DAMN Magazine74, October / November / December 2019
  • Arhitext, Issue no.231, Fundația Arhitext Design, Bucharest, 2013
  • 100 Architects of the year: KIA - Korean Institute of Architects UIA - International Union of Architects, 2015, ISBN 979-11-86887-00-4

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Blurry Venice Installation / Plastique Fantastique. June 5, 2019, accessed August 3, 2020 (American English).
  2. ↑ a b c d View of Soft, Sexy, Fantastic. Inflating public space. Accessed July 31, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Cate St. Hill: This is temporary . Ed .: Riba. London 2016.
  4. ↑ Canal180: 180 ID Plastique Fantastique. April 26, 2016, accessed July 31, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Interview with Marco Canevacci: Changing Metropolis. Kobenhavns Internationale Theater, Copenhagen, 2015, accessed July 31, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Josh Plow: The Pneumatics of Plastique Fantastique Occupying Air. DAMN Magazine, December 2019, accessed July 31, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Sabin Bors: Catalyzers . Issue no.231. Fundația Arhitext Design, Bucharest 2013 ( cargo.site ).
  8. ↑ Isphere - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  9. ↑ Sabine von Fischer, Daniele Muscionico, Andrea Mittelholzer: Show me your mask and I'll tell you who you are! Neue Zürcher Zeitung, May 18, 2020, accessed on August 3, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Time for utopias? Everyday scenarios by Plastique Fantastique. Retrieved August 26, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Plastique Fantastique makes Isphere mask informed by 1950s sci-fi comics. May 6, 2020, accessed on August 26, 2020 .
  12. ↑ VENICE ART BIENNALE - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  13. ↑ RINGdeLUXE LA RIOJA - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  14. ↑ I AM A PROBLEM. Retrieved August 26, 2020 .
  15. ↑ THE TAPEWORM - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  16. ↑ LOUD SHADOWS | LIQUID EVENTS - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  17. ↑ superKOLMEMEN - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  18. ↑ BREATHING VOLUME - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  19. ↑ LIVEBOAT - CHAPTER FIVE - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  20. ↑ Sound of Light , on plastique-fantastique.de
  21. ↑ AEROPOLIS - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  22. ↑ Space-Invaders , on plastique-fantastique.de
  23. ↑ KARL MARX BONSAI - Plastique Fantastique. Accessed July 31, 2020 (English).
  24. ↑ KIA: 100 Architects of the year 2015 . Ed .: KIA - Korean Institute of Architects UIA. International Union of Architects, ISBN 979-1-18688700-4 .
  25. ^ The Winners of the Let's Color Awards. September 19, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2020 (UK English).