Summary
Liquid Crystal Environment is made using heat-sensitive liquid crystals that are placed between glass slides and inserted into projectors. The slides are rotated to create movement within the liquid, and as the crystals are heated and cooled they change colour. The patterns produced within the various slides are then simultaneously projected onto screens around the exhibiting space, all under the control of a computer program.
In 1959, Metzger conceived of what he called ‘auto-destructive art’, whereby works made using machine-manufactured substances would automatically degrade, foregrounding the question of the reliability of these substances and society’s preoccupation with destruction (see, for example, Metzger’s Recreation of First Public Demonstration of Auto-Destructive Art 1960, recreated 2004, Tate T12156). By 1961, Metzger’s artistic ideas had progressed and a new concept was added to his practice: auto-creative art. Metzger became preoccupied with growth as opposed to degradation, these new works seeking to harness technology, to engineer processes of positive change… (read more)
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