Flux 4.0: Ascape, presented by Creative Time as part of Consuming Places in DUMBO, Brooklyn — forms cast from molds of 1960s Cobra race cars become surfaces for projected computer-generated animations, creating a visualization of velocity that proposes a deeper relationship between speed, digital communication, and the experience of the city.
Opening on August 14, 2002, as part of Creative Time’s Consuming Places exhibition in DUMBO, Brooklyn, Ascape was the fourth iteration in Asymptote’s Fluxspace series — a body of work that progressively explored the relationship between physical form, digital media, and spatial experience. Where the earlier Fluxspace works had employed translucent glass, pneumatic forms, and suspended spines as projection surfaces, Ascape introduced the automobile as architectural medium, projecting complex computer-generated animations onto forms cast from molds of the iconic 1960s Cobra race car.
Velocity and Form
The static shapes of the cars were set in motion by the projected graphics, creating a visually saturated environment that proposed a deeper relationship between the speed of digital communication networks and the experience of the city. The Cobra — an icon of American automotive design — was recast as an architectural surface, its aerodynamic body becoming a screen for digital animation rather than a vessel for mechanical speed.
The Fluxspace Continuum
Ascape was the fourth iteration in the Fluxspace series, following FluxSpace 1.0 at TZ Art in New York, FluxSpace 2.0 at the Venice Biennale, and Fluxspace 3.0 at Documenta XI. Where the earlier works explored translucent glass, pneumatic forms, and suspended spines as projection surfaces, Ascape introduced the automobile as architectural medium, extending the series’ investigation into the intersection of physical form, digital media, and spatial experience.
Credits
Project Architect: John Cleater. Animation: Noboru Ota. Sound Design: Dan Dobson.
