The magic of devices: a projection of lights of Integrated Design Workshop Collective in Chile in 1970

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the use of the Chromatic Abstractoscope device and its genealogy, within the context of the productive practice and artistic contributions of the Chilean collective “Taller de Diseño Integrado” (1968-1973). We focus specially on their exposition named as “Museum-Events 70” on the National Fine Arts Museum in Santiago de Chile. The present paper proposes that the Chromatic Abstractoscope and the lightshow by “Taller de Diseño Integrado” expresses the significance of the articulation between art, sciences, technique and politics, and also that this articulation constitutes the foundations over which an aesthetic collective experience focused on a wider audience could be generated. Such an experience was characterized by the possibilities gave by the collective experience on the public space, by the unveiling of the magical contained on the technical images coming rom science and by renewed meanings of this spheres, i.e. a collective, democratizing and emancipatory experience. This artistic collective used the scientific discoveries, the rationality of a device developed by local scientists and from an ephimeral, ambiental and temporary art piece, to generate contributions from the artistic activity towards the building of a new society.