Measuring the Universe | Roman Ondák

ARTIST Roman Ondák
ARTWORK Measuring the Universe, 2007
EXHIBITION Taking Place
LOCATION The Temporary Stedelijk at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
DURATION August 28 , 2010 – January 9, 2011

Roman Ondák’s Measuring the Universe, currently exhibited in the Taking Place exhibition at Amsterdam’s Temporary Stedelijk, is a poetic and powerful in its simplicity. Beginning with nothing but an empty space and a simple instruction, the work invites participation and “interaction” from museum visitors.  Leaving a trace of their presence and story behind in a mark on the wall, participants cumulatively create the art themselves. The result is a textual and visual representation of an audience that shared a space and an experience in temporally dispersed moments.

From the gallery:

Measuring the Universe is a participatory artwork that evolves over the course of the exhibition, as museum attendants measure each visitor’s height and inscribe it on the gallery walls. Based on the tradition of marking a child’s height on doorframes as he or she grows, Measuring the Universe begins with empty white walls; however, as the exhibition progresses, the surface gradually darkens as the attendants record the presence of potentially thousands of museumgoers. The work is an ever-evolving wall drawing that is both a public performance and a collective document.

via designboom | roman ondák at the temporary stedelijk

and Stedelijk Museum | Measuring the Universe