Zigurat 2010 (a rotating sculpture) - Heinz Mack (b.1931)
ZERO founder Heinz Mack had his very first idea for his "Zikurat" series in the 1950s, when he created the first kinetic model. Having further elaborated on the Zikurat concept in the 1990s, Mack reached a high point with this Zikurat in 2010, and not only because of its large size. Split into three parts, "Zikurat (2010)" is an outdoor sculpture that rotates while illuminated by spotlights. Due to the harmonic proportion, the work develops a strong rhythm and a dynamic momentum, while the spectator's gaze is vertically fixed to the top. The play of the changing light on the reflective material is striking since the material is differently structured. This creates a powerful optical effect, intensified even more by the slow turning of the sculpture.
"For me, light is immaterial, and in my case, I prefer to make works that are instruments for light. My sculptures do have a kind of function: of making light visible. If you look at some examples, of course, there is a certain similarity to what you can see if you look at the sea and if the sun is shining on the sea and there is wind that makes the waves reflect the light in a particular way - there is a certain similarity to what happens in nature in the work but it's not comparable with nature. It's not an illusion of nature: it has its own reality."
(Heinz Mack)
Zigurat 2010 (a rotating sculpture) - Heinz Mack (b.1931)
ZERO founder Heinz Mack had his very first idea for his "Zikurat" series in the 1950s, when he created the first kinetic model. Having further elaborated on the Zikurat concept in the 1990s, Mack reached a high point with this Zikurat in 2010, and not only because of its large size. Split into three parts, "Zikurat (2010)" is an outdoor sculpture that rotates while illuminated by spotlights. Due to the harmonic proportion, the work develops a strong rhythm and a dynamic momentum, while the spectator's gaze is vertically fixed to the top. The play of the changing light on the reflective material is striking since the material is differently structured. This creates a powerful optical effect, intensified even more by the slow turning of the sculpture.
"For me, light is immaterial, and in my case, I prefer to make works that are instruments for light. My sculptures do have a kind of function: of making light visible. If you look at some examples, of course, there is a certain similarity to what you can see if you look at the sea and if the sun is shining on the sea and there is wind that makes the waves reflect the light in a particular way - there is a certain similarity to what happens in nature in the work but it's not comparable with nature. It's not an illusion of nature: it has its own reality."
(Heinz Mack)