Скачать или смотреть Monument to Change by Peter Wegner at Stanford | Complete Documentation

Monument to Change is Peter Wegner’s 32-foot-long kinetic sculpture at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. This real-time video shows the entire composition evolving over 8 hours, never repeating.

The spark of inspiration for Monument to Change came to Wegner in 1989 on a visit to Germany. While passing through the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, he found himself transfixed by the mechanical sign displaying arrivals and departures. It seemed to suggest endless possibility and perpetual renewal.

Twenty years later, color had come to play a pre-eminent role in Wegner’s art practice. So it was natural for him to visualize Monument to Change as a “perpetual painting.” The piece features 165,000 tiny screenprints in a palette of 80 colors. Paired with the technology, his composition is fluid, dynamic and deeply absorbing.

“The crowd standing in front of the wall-sized artwork looked mesmerized,” wrote Jori Finkel in the LA Times. “For a split second, the 32-foot-long piece resembled an abstract painting by Ellsworth Kelly…. But it didn't stay that way for long. Changing constantly, it plays more like a movie that's about movement itself, generating suspense by developing and disrupting patterns of color.”

For many, Monument to Change provides an oasis on a hectic campus. “As the pieces spin, the cards make a soft clicking sound, which reminds me of the rain on my roof at home,” commented Sarah Beller, Stanford class of ‘15. She recalled a specific day her freshman year when she “spent an hour sitting in front of the piece watching and listening as the patterns moved.” She continued: “After two years, Monument to Change as it Changes is still my favorite piece of art at Stanford, and it has become my go-to spot when I need to calm down and take a break from school and work.”

Beller’s response might be universal. People on campus often specifically seek out Monument to Change. It’s a group that includes seemingly everyone: faculty and students, hopeful applicants & recent graduates, grandparents and toddlers as well as members of the broader community. Viewers might pause briefly to take in a moment of the artwork’s change. Or they might pull up a chair and park themselves for hours right in front of it. Inevitably, Monument to Change has become the backdrop for innumerable selfies.

Perhaps Stanford’s own publication summed it up best: “Beloved Stanford sculpture inspires reflection and honors resilience.”

Peter Wegner
Monument to Change

Permanently installed on the Stanford University Campus, Palo Alto CA (Stanford Graduate School of Business), consulting architect: Matt Flynn Architecture

screenprint on polycarbonate in modules with steel frame, CPU & driver
108" x 384" x 15"
8:00:00
2011