This text by Bart Lootsma was originally published in the accompanying catalog of the exhibition. You can find the full catalog here.
In the 1960s and 1970s, new media such as radio, telephone and television changed the relationship between people and their surroundings. New technologies made it possible to influence the way people experience their surroundings. Perception becomes an important theme for many artists and designers in this period.
Cover ‘Bau’ magazine 4/1968, Model met Austriennale glasses by Hans Hollein, 1968. Courtesy Hans Hollein private archive.
This is particularly evident in the work of Alfons Schilling. He builds a series of machines that restrict the perception of the person wearing them extremely. The wearer thus becomes aware of his perception.
Goggles and helmets by Haus-Rucker-Co transform the perception of the environment through added visual irritation and sound.
Haus-Rucker-Co, Environment Transformers, 1968 (from l-r: Viewatomizer, Drizzler and two Flyheads). All from Collection Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, except first Flyhead: Collection Wien Museum, Vienna. Photo: Peter Tijhuis, Design Museum Den Bosch.
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Digital catalog
Visiting the exhibition, you will receive the accompanying catalog. It documents both the technical information of all exhibited works, as well as substantive texts to contextualize important makers and themes. You can find the digital version here.
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Walter Pichler’s prototypes of furniture and appliances are perfectly executed and functional. By emphasizing certain effects of the use of everyday objects, these prototypes show their cold and disorientating impact.
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