Automation House
Automation House
1972
audio archive
image not available online
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The camera became Gordon Matta-Clark’s companion throughout his artistic career and an instrument of perception for his architectural interventions. Automation House is an exercise in spatial perception and on the role of bodies in a building full of people. By means of a mirror, the artist captures people’s movements in a spectacular manner. The framing alters the normal perspective of the space, while the depth of field allows for different situations to be juxtaposed. A mixture of performance and filmic construction, the work leaves the viewer confused and unable to identify automatically the actions in the image. The principle of framing with mirrors prefigures Matta-Clarks’ famous ‘building cuts’: the reflections in the mirror create openings that transform all architectural logic.

The texts of the MACBA web draw on previous documentation. Please let us know if you find any errors.
original title
Automation House
year of acquisition
2008
type of object
Audiovisual recording
credits
MACBA Collection. MACBA Consortium
registration number
R.3124
date
1972
fonds
MACBA Collection. MACBA Consortium
media
16 mm film transferred to video, b/w, sound, 32 min
Copyright
© Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark, VEGAP, Barcelona
original title
Automation House
registration number
R.3124
date
1972
year of acquisition
2008
fonds
MACBA Collection. MACBA Consortium
type of object
Audiovisual recording
media
16 mm film transferred to video, b/w, sound, 32 min
credits
MACBA Collection. MACBA Consortium
Copyright
© Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark, VEGAP, Barcelona
Space perception
Persons
Mirrors
Performance art
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contact
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colleccio@macba.cat

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