Participative Mindscapes

Abstract

In parallel with my social activism, I introduced architecture into my kinetic art and participatory activism into my architecture. Flexibility and participation in architectural design has been a permanent feature of my practice, bringing new opportunities for self-expression in urban living. To form follows function I opposed form follows movement because it is man oriented while function is object oriented. After my 1962–1964 Mecanographs, machine-made images based on an interaction between the movement, the artist and the machine, I joined forces with Len Lye to determine what kind of positive attributes a Museum of Kinetic Art should have, defining three aspects of kinetic movement: illumination, sound, and physical movement. Vasarely and other kinetic artists put their mark on their time by promoting a form of social art, accessible to all, suggesting movement without actual movement. Walking through my medieval village can be a kinetic experience. The sense of wonder you feel at every corner compares with that of optical art. In the past decade, I moved toward a new form of participatory kinetic expression using state-of-the-art technology (plastics, LED, wireless devices). I view my kinetic work as an architectural experience and architecture as a stimulating kinetic experience.