Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM
The installation with the title " ... right now, over me" consists of 65 spherical lights of different sizes − distributed over the entire building. The "optical table", central element of many experimental setups at the institute and an important tool of our research, served as inspiration for this artwork. Just as the various prisms, lenses or mirrors of an experimental set-up on an optical table are traversed by a signal, the spheres are connected to each other via a control signal. The globes are arranged in eight strands of different lengths, each of which is assigned a different color. All strands converge in the foyer. A colorful scene emerges when all the globes light up at 10:30 am to mark the beginning of the daily coffee break.
Each strand of light can also be triggered individually using freely accessible switches distributed throughout the building. The light signals are passed on from sphere to sphere in a uniform time cycle, thus arriving in the foyer not simultaneously but gradually, depending on the length of the string. The successive lighting up refers to the phenomenon of interference or non-simultaneity of signals. At the same time, it takes up − in a humorous way − the idea of our employees coming together one by one to join the daily coffee break in the foyer.
About the artist
Tobias Rehberger (born June 2, 1966 in Esslingen am Neckar) is a German sculptor. He is a professor at the academy of fine arts "Städelschule" Frankfurt am Main. Rehberger is best known for his room-filling installations. His works move freely between painting, sculpture, design, action art and architecture. He creates minimal artistic interventions as well as room-filling environments.