Call on Water
"Call on Water" is a fountain that writes words in mid-air with plumes of vapour that ascend from a water basin. Dozens of poems by Mexican writer Octavio Paz are presented which describe readable air, the moment when the written word is spoken and becomes the atmosphere itself. The poems’ content becomes tangible briefly, almost breathable, then disappears in turbulence. The fountain uses hundreds of computer-controlled ultrasonic atomizers, placed under the reflecting water pool, which produce the plumes of cold vapour.
Some of the poems and excerpts chosen include the following:
PASADO EN CLARO (exc)
Ver el mundo es deletrearlo.
Espejo de palabras: ¿donde estuve?
Mis palabras me miran desde el charco
de mi memoria. Brillan,
entre enramadas de reflejos,
nubes varadas y burbujas,
sobre un fondo del ocre al brasilado
las sílabas de agua.
Ondulación de sombras, visos, ecos,
no escritura de signos: de rumores.
Mis ojos tienen sed. El charco es senequista:
el agua, aunque potable, no se bebe: se lee.
Al sol del altiplano se evaporan los charcos.
Queda un polvo desleal
y unos cuantos vestigios intestados.
¿Donde estuve?
A DRAFT OF SHADOWS (exc)
To see the world is to spell it.
Mirror of words: where was I?
My words watch me from the puddle
of my memory. Syllables of water
shine in a grove of reflections,
stranded clouds, bubbles above a bottom
that changes from gold to rust.
Rippling shadows, flashes, echoes,
the writing not of signs, but of murmurs.
My eyes are thirsty. The puddle is Stoic:
the water is for reading, not drinking.
Tn the sun of the high plains the puddles evaporate.
Only some faithless dust remains,
and a few intestate relics.
Where was I?
AQUI
Mis pasos en esta calle
Resuenan
en otra calle
donde
oigo mis pasos
pasar en esta calle
donde
Sólo es real la niebla
HERE
My steps along this street
resound
in another street
in which
I hear my steps
passing along this street
in which
Only the mist is real
ESCRITURA
Yo dibujo estas letras
como el día dibuja sus imágenes
y sopla sobre ellas y no vuelve
WRITING
I draw these letters
as the day draws its images
and blows over them
and does not return
JUVENTUD
El salto de la ola
más blanca
cada hora
más verde
cada día
más joven
la muerte
YOUTH
The leap of the wave
whiter
each hour
greener
each day
younger
death
HACIA EL COMIENZO (exc)
Los signos se borran:
yo miro la claridad
TOWARD THE BEGINNING (exc)
The signs are erased:
I watch clarity
VUELTA (exc)
Palabras sin sombra.
No las oímos, las negamos,
dijimos que no existían:
nos quedamos con el ruido.
Sexto piso:
estoy en la mitad de esta frase:
¿hacia
donde me lleva?
Lenguaje despedazado
Poeta: jardinero de epitafios.
RETURN (exc)
Shadowless words.
We didn’t hear them, we denied them,
we said they don’t exist:
we were content with noise.
Sixth floor:
I am in the middle of this phrase:
where
will it take me?
Mangled language.
Poet: gardner of epitaphs.
EPITAFIO SOBRE NINGUNA PIEDRA (Exc)
Mi casa fueron mis palabras, mi tumba el aire.
EPITAPH FOR NO STONE (Exc)
My words were my house, air my tomb.
Some of the poems and excerpts chosen include the following:
PASADO EN CLARO (exc)
Ver el mundo es deletrearlo.
Espejo de palabras: ¿donde estuve?
Mis palabras me miran desde el charco
de mi memoria. Brillan,
entre enramadas de reflejos,
nubes varadas y burbujas,
sobre un fondo del ocre al brasilado
las sílabas de agua.
Ondulación de sombras, visos, ecos,
no escritura de signos: de rumores.
Mis ojos tienen sed. El charco es senequista:
el agua, aunque potable, no se bebe: se lee.
Al sol del altiplano se evaporan los charcos.
Queda un polvo desleal
y unos cuantos vestigios intestados.
¿Donde estuve?
A DRAFT OF SHADOWS (exc)
To see the world is to spell it.
Mirror of words: where was I?
My words watch me from the puddle
of my memory. Syllables of water
shine in a grove of reflections,
stranded clouds, bubbles above a bottom
that changes from gold to rust.
Rippling shadows, flashes, echoes,
the writing not of signs, but of murmurs.
My eyes are thirsty. The puddle is Stoic:
the water is for reading, not drinking.
Tn the sun of the high plains the puddles evaporate.
Only some faithless dust remains,
and a few intestate relics.
Where was I?
AQUI
Mis pasos en esta calle
Resuenan
en otra calle
donde
oigo mis pasos
pasar en esta calle
donde
Sólo es real la niebla
HERE
My steps along this street
resound
in another street
in which
I hear my steps
passing along this street
in which
Only the mist is real
ESCRITURA
Yo dibujo estas letras
como el día dibuja sus imágenes
y sopla sobre ellas y no vuelve
WRITING
I draw these letters
as the day draws its images
and blows over them
and does not return
JUVENTUD
El salto de la ola
más blanca
cada hora
más verde
cada día
más joven
la muerte
YOUTH
The leap of the wave
whiter
each hour
greener
each day
younger
death
HACIA EL COMIENZO (exc)
Los signos se borran:
yo miro la claridad
TOWARD THE BEGINNING (exc)
The signs are erased:
I watch clarity
VUELTA (exc)
Palabras sin sombra.
No las oímos, las negamos,
dijimos que no existían:
nos quedamos con el ruido.
Sexto piso:
estoy en la mitad de esta frase:
¿hacia
donde me lleva?
Lenguaje despedazado
Poeta: jardinero de epitafios.
RETURN (exc)
Shadowless words.
We didn’t hear them, we denied them,
we said they don’t exist:
we were content with noise.
Sixth floor:
I am in the middle of this phrase:
where
will it take me?
Mangled language.
Poet: gardner of epitaphs.
EPITAFIO SOBRE NINGUNA PIEDRA (Exc)
Mi casa fueron mis palabras, mi tumba el aire.
EPITAPH FOR NO STONE (Exc)
My words were my house, air my tomb.
General info
Spanish name:
Nombras el Agua
Year of creation:
2016
Technique:
ultrasonic atomizers, aluminium and steel basin, custom electronics, computer, water
Power:
11,520W on 110-240V
Room conditions:
the piece works with natural or artificial light, indoor or outdoor. The piece generates a faint tinkling sound. The vapour generated by the atomizers is cold so it mostly precipitates back into the basin but some water does condense around the piece so anti-slip carpet is recommended. The piece does not humidify the exhibition room in any perceptible way.
Dimensions:
295 x 114 x 35 cm
Weight:
800-1000 kg
Edition:
6 Editions, 1 AP
Exhibitions
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Common Measures, PACE Gallery New York, New York City, New York, United States, 2022.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Unstable Presence, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California, United States, 2021 - 2022.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Presencia Inestable, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, Monterrey, México, 2019 - 2020.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Présence instable, Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2018.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Preabsence, Haus der Elektronischen Künste Basel, Basel, Switzerland, 2016.
Credits
- Programming and Hardware: Stephan Schulz, Nikolaos Chandolias
- Industrial design: Sebastien Dallaire
- Production Assistance: Carolina Murillo-Morales, Karine Charbonneau, Guillaume Tremblay, Sergio Clavijo, Lucía Barreto, Nima Navab, Humberto José Rodriguez, Pierre Fournier
Bibliography
- "Ohne Besucher keine Ausstellung: Rafael Lozano-Hemmer nimmt das wörtlich." Tages Woche. Basel, Switzerland, 2016. (deutsch) (Newspapers)
- "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer 'Preabsence' at House of Electronic Arts, Basel." Mousse Magazine. Milan, Italy, 2016. (english) (Magazines)
- "Das Haus für elektronische Künste in Münchenstein zeigt Werke von Rafael Lozano-Hemmer." Badische Zeitung. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2016. (deutsch) (Newspapers)
- "Poemas vaporizados surgen y desaparecen en la nueva obra de Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (Video)." Pijama Surf. 2016. (español) (Websites)
- Barros del Villar, Javier. "Nombras el agua (una vaporización literal de poemas Octavio Paz)." DE MX. México, 2016. (español) (Websites)
- Campuzano, Rodrigo. "Animated vapor art writes a poem in thin air." The Creators Project. New York City, New York, United States, 2016. (english) (Websites)
- Heim, Christoph. "Magie der Überwachung." Basler Zeitung. Basel, Switzerland, 2016. (Newspapers)
- Önol, Isin. "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer ve Kolektif Bellek." Artful Living. Istanbul, Turkey, 2016. (türkçe) (Websites)
- Roffiel, Othiana. "Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Cuando el retrato se convierte en paisaje." Artishock. Chile, 2016. (español) (Websites)
- Silverman, Linda R.. "Zurich/Basel/London June, 2016." Linda R. Silverman. New York City, New York, United States, 2016. (english) (Websites)
- Zücher, Isabel. "Erscheinen und verschwinden im Haus der elektronischen Künste." Basellandschaftliche Zeitung. Basel, Switzerland, 2016. (deutsch) (Newspapers)
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