[ISEA2015] Artist Statement: Michael Rodemer — Rapprochement

Artist Statement

Mixed Media, Microcontroller (2008)

Rapprochement is a computer-coordinated kinetic sculpture that uses an ultrasonic rangefinder to sense the proximity of visitors. When activated, motors slowly grind two brick fragments against one another, turning at times in opposite directions, and sometimes in the same direction. The bricks engage each other in a process of mutual accommodation. The version of Rapprochement shown at ISEA2015 uses brick pieces from Berlin, Germany; one originates from the East, one from the West.

  • Michael Rodemer holds Master’s degrees in Comparative Literature and Sculpture and has studied and exhibited his work in the USA and Europe. His current sculptural artworks incorporate computer control. Rodemer has taught at the University of Tübingen, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and presently teaches at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design. During the 1999-2000 and the 2009-2010 academic years Rodemer was in Germany on a Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship. Michael was also one of the executive directors of ISEA97.

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