Volute
“Volute” is the world’s first 3D-printed speech bubble. In 1860, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville recorded the phrase "Au clair de la lune" on his phonoautograph, making the first known recording of human speech. In “Volute 1: Au Clair de la Lune”, the same phrase is materialized with a new method developed by Lozano-Hemmer’s studio in conjunction with fluid dynamic scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology, Auburn University, and NYU. Breath exhaled while speaking is scanned by a custom-made laser tomograph, then converted into a 3D shape using photogrammetry and, finally, printed in high-definition stainless steel. In Lozano Hemmer’s series of "Volute"—words, phrases, and songs—are rendered into turbulent clouds, containing layers of complex folds and vortices. This piece is inspired by Charles Babbage’s 1837 statement that the atmosphere is a vast library that contains all the words that have been spoken in the past. The piece includes a video of the tomograph slices on a square display, showing the cloud in motion.
General info
Spanish name:
Voluta
Year of creation:
2016
Volute 1: Au Clair de la Lune
Technique:
3D-printed polished aluminum, tomography video
Room conditions:
Natural or artificial light. The piece is silent and is not affected by other sounds.
Dimensions:
sculpture: 65 x 19 x 21 cm
video: variable dimensions
video: variable dimensions
Edition:
6 Editions, 2 AP
Collectors:
Fondation Giverny pour l’art contemporain
Volute 0
Technique:
3D-printed polished aluminum, tomography video
Room conditions:
natural or artificial light, the piece is silent and is not affected by other sounds
Dimensions:
7 x 7 x 6 cm
Weight:
0.5 kg
Additionnal info:
word “Au” excerpt from Volute 1
Edition:
35 Editions, 3 AP
Collectors:
private collectors
Volute 2: Listen to the World
Edition:
3 Editions, 1 AP
Collectors:
private collector
Exhibitions
- Travelling Gallery of Fluid Motion, Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences (CPNAS), Washington, D.C., United States, 2023 - 2024.
- Atmospheric Memory, Manchester International Festival, Powerhouse Ultimo - Museum of Applied Arts and Science, Sydney, Australia, 2023.
- TECHS-MECHS: A Survey of Mexican Technological Culture, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, Grand Theatre, San Francisco, California, United States, 2023.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Atmospheric Memory, Manchester International Festival, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 2021.
- 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: Atmospheric Memory, Manchester International Festival, Manchester, United Kingdom, 2019.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Confirmation Bias, bitforms gallery, New York City, New York, United States, 2018.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Présence instable, Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2018.
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Decision Forest, Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2018.
- Collective V, Art Bärtschi & Cie, Genève, Switzerland, 2017.
- Untitled Art Fair, bitforms gallery, Miami, Florida, United States, 2016.
Credits
- Production: Stephan Schulz, Kitae Kim, Miguel Legault and Sergio Clavijo
- Georgia Institute of Technology: S. Johnston, J. Imgrund, D. Fries and Devesh Ranjan
- Auburn University: K. Johnson, J. Bolton, C. Clifford and B. Thurow
- New York University: E. Fonda and K. Sreenivasan
