Pledges represents an evocative art installation situated at the esteemed Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, offering a thought-provoking reflection on the bustling urban landscape. In a world where city dwellers often blend into the urban fabric, seemingly unnoticed like social automatons, this installation seeks to unveil their innermost thoughts, worries, and aspirations as they traverse the city streets.
At the heart of this installation is the architectural marvel of the CHB, boasting a ground-level café adorned with a sizable window serving as a canvas for projection. Moreover, the upper reaches of the building house a cinema featuring a translucent screen that became an integral part of our artistic expression.
As pedestrians pass by this window, a captivating interplay unfolds: a circle materializes, mirroring the thoughts — the pledges — of these anonymous passersby. These circles synchronize in speed and direction with the individuals, gradually decelerating before ascending from the café window to the cinema screen above.
Accumulating over time, these circles converge on the screen, where some burst into the ether while others ascend beyond the apex, symbolically ‘coming true.’
Guiding this intricate interaction are twin laser light barriers flanking the window, meticulously tracking the pedestrians’ movement, direction, and pace.
The genesis of these pledges lies in a prior collection effort via a dedicated website, inviting people to share and rate their thoughts. The frequency of a pledge’s appearance correlates with its rating, weaving an intricate tapestry of shared aspirations and concerns that animate this captivating display.
Pledges, through its amalgamation of technology, human connection, and artistic expression, serves as a poignant reminder of the diverse inner worlds that coexist amidst the bustling urban landscape.
An interactive installation at the CHB.
2009 at the University of Applied Science Potsdam
Team
- Karen Hentschel
- Marcus Paeschke
- Stefan Hermann