There's a computer-controlled sphere dancing in New York City this month, and you have about a week left to see it.
The oddity is Maria Blaisse's "Breathing Sphere," and it's currently housed at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City. The Dutch designer created the motorized globe of woven bamboo in order to spark "a spatial and formal dialogue" between the piece and the famously serene Noguchi haven, founded by Japanese-American artist and namesake Isamu Noguchi.
Formally named "Arduino" after the microchip that governs its every move, the breathing sculpture appears like a living creature as it pulses in the museum. It appeared even more alive on December 7 when dancers Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch, Sara Jimenez, and Cynthia Stanley performed with three of Blaisse's sculptures, plucked from the Pratt Manhattan Gallery where they're on display courtesy of slowLab.
“It’s kind of like swimming for the first time,” Jimenez explained to Queens Chronicle after the performance. “It’s this constant texture around you that your body feels intuitively connected with in some way.”
Check out the "Breathing Sphere" above and head over to the Noguchi before January 4 to see Blaisse's work and a video presentation of dancers interacting with the piece, shot by filmmaker Jellie Dekker.
Related
Before You Go
