Elsa on the Moon is a kinetic sculpture tribute to Elsa Von Freytag Loringhoven, eccentric baroness and contemporary of Marcel Duchamp; ambiguously attributed with the creation Fountain, in 1917. Or was it Louise Norton? The work consists of a robotic leg capped with a ceramic urinal. The device is balanced with counterweights through an extended aluminum arm.
Elsa On The Moon
“The fact is that, in recent years, Fountain―already charged with a sulphurous reputation― also poses the question of the exclusivity of creation. At a time when we are starting to reveal the involvement of the other “genre” in contemporary creation, the creator seizes History as an element in motion, changing with every perspective. In an effort to somehow give shape to time, Elsa on the Moon acts as a pendulum clock that jumps every 30 minutes. Like a small leap in a known and controlled landscape, it inaugurates a joyous reflection on creative veracity by focusing on the creation rather than its author(s). A perfectly balanced Elsa slowly jumps as if she were freed from terrestrial gravity.
Credit: Mathieu Zurstrassen
Credit: Mathieu Zurstrassen
Project Credits / Acknowledgements
Production: M.Zurstrassen, 2019
This work was made possible thanks to the support of La Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles
This project is co-funded by the European Commission´s DG CONNECT, in the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union under the S+T+ARTS programme´s Regional STARTS Centers. http://www.culture.be/
Biography
Zurstrassen bestows added symbolic and philosophic value to his work by tapping into the invisible quality and relationships created between sender and receiver. He uses the codes of craftsmanship to solve aesthetic issues that are often at the border of the indefinable. Mathieu combines the ambiguity of materials with a poetic streak, both delicate and humorous.
