February 27 – May 23, 2021
Aaron Taylor Kuffner’s Gamelatron is a sculpture like no other! A Gamelatron is a sound-producing kinetic sculpture presented as site-specific installations and stand-alone artworks. They are made from bronze and iron instruments derivative of Indonesia’s thousand-year-old sonic tradition Gamelan, retrofitted with mechanical mallets on sculptural mounts. The pieces are connected to a physical computing system that transcribes digital compositions into an array of electrical pulsations that results in a ghostly musical automaton.
Aaron Taylor Kuffner is an American born conceptual artist, based in New York. Kuffner’s dynamic work reaches far outside conventional forms of representation: it actively engages its audience and pushes art to serve society. His pieces often take the form of multi-year projects that require in depth research, collaboration with field experts and the development of new specialized skill sets. Each project provides unique conceptual tools that further the evolution of consciousness through the experience of beauty and the sublime.
In the press
The Day: Gamelatron exhibition provides a meditative experience
The Day: The banging of the gongs
Musicians Speak Podcast: Joseph Celli Interviews Aaron Taylor Kuffner (Episode 16)
Installation Video
Installation of Gamelatron Roh Ageng in Lyman Allyn’s McKee Gallery.
Gamelatron Roh Ageng
This video was shot by Aaron Taylor Kuffner with a camera on a still tripod occasionally turning in the gallery space to show the surround sound elements of the artwork / installation, while he composed “The Ride Out To The Sky”, which is performed daily by the Gamelatron Roh Ageng.
Gamelan Education Videos
Gong Making in Java
Traditional hot-forging techniques for making bronze gongs, demonstrated by Tentrem Sarwanto at his forge in Surakarta, Java in 1988.
Bronze to Digital: Making the Gamelatron
Get a sense of how Aaron Taylor Kuffner transforms traditional gamelan instruments into entirely new forms in making his sonic kinetic Gamelatron sculptures.
10 years of the Gamelatron
A visual exploration of the range and evolution of the Gamelatron project, from its earliest days to recent installations.
Javanese gamelan performance from the Puro Pakualaman, Yogyakarta, Java; an excerpt of Gendhing Pengawe
Javanese style gamelan playing tends to be slow and measured, focusing on quiet intricacy and refinement.
Balinese gamelan performance; an excerpt of ‘Tabuh Enem’ at Galang Kangin, Bali
Balinese style gamelan is played faster and with more flourish, channeling the divine through nearly ecstatic playing.
Javanese performance of Wayang Kulit (shadow puppets)
Gamelan often accompanies traditional performances of Wayang Kulit, or shadow puppets, which tell elaborate stories drawn from Hindu texts, Indonesian myth, current politics and folk tales.
Virtual Exhibit Opening