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Bloomberg Summer at the Roundhouse- Ron Arad’s Curtain Call. Innervisions: An Evening At The Cabinet of Dr Callagari

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 Innervisions: An evening At The Cabinet of Dr Callagari was just one of the many special events which have taken place and are continuing to take place (see https://roundhouse.org.uk/ron-arads-curtain-call/events for listings Ron Arad's new art installation piece Roundhouse, London, Bloomberg.

Innervisions: An evening At The Cabinet of Dr Callagari was just one of the many special events which have taken place and are continuing to take place (see https://roundhouse.org.uk/ron-arads-curtain-call/events for listings) as part of Ron Arad’s new art installation piece, which has been brought to the Roundhouse, London, with the help of Bloomberg. Ron Arad has used experimental materials, the shape of the Roundhouse and projectors to create an interactive art installation venue for the viewing of film and for the appreciation of music. “Simply”, by suspending 5.600 silicone rods from the rooftops of the roundhouse in the shape of an 18 metre diameter ring Arad has created a circular curtain that films can be projected on to. The art is both in what he has created visually because the curtain itself is impressive and in what he has created in terms of transforming the venue space.

The event/experiment last Friday night was about meshing together Ron Arad’s art installation with visual art and electronic music; more specifically with high-quality, clinical Germanic Techno from the highly acclaimed German-based Innervisions record label. The programme for this sold-out hybridity was a showing of the 1920’s German made silent horror classic Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, which was to be accompanied by live score music manufactured by Henrick Schwarz, Ame and Dixon. This was to be followed by a DJ set from the same talented composers, and this time it was the musicians that were to be accompanied by the visual projections from Berlin-Based visual collective JUTOJO.

The evening began like a trip to the theatre; people arriving sporadically; picking up tickets or purchasing tickets, both with equal vigour; and the upstairs bar slowly filled with people and expectation. However it was also very different from a trip to the theatre because there was a lack of formality and pretension, instead there was an open invite to explore and interact with the venue, something that was to set the tone for the entire night.

The film, which needs no real introduction or review, was projected on to the virtual curtain so that it could be viewed from two opposing sides outside of the curtain and from two opposing sides inside the curtain, essentially you could watch the film from four different vantage points. It was a spectacle from wherever you chose to watch it and the film did not fail to capture the audience. One of the highlights of this art installation venue is that you are not only allowed but in fact it is entirely encouraged for you to touch and feel the materials used in this piece of art because to gain entry to the inner circle, which had been created by the curtain you had to push your way through the rods. The score of music that accompanied the film was nothing short of superb: it was an apt score of music that helped the audience to equally laugh and shudder when the action of the film provoked the audience to feel those emotions. On speaking with the audience the same adjectives kept being employed- different and experimental. The only real criticism of the showing and one shared by many of those that attended was that the volume of the music during the film should have been louder so that the intricacies of what was being played could have been heard over the whispers of conversation that had been permitted by the relaxed setting. However, asking for something to be turned up because it is so good and you want to listen to it more closely is not really a criticism Inversions should lose any sleep over.

The DJ set began and the musicians transported the crowd (no longer could they be called an audience) to Berlin itself and from there they were then taken on a journey with a techno soundtrack which included tracks that were dark, deep, funky and on occasion a little bit eerie (which matched perfectly what had happened earlier in the evening). This journey finished at 1am, which ironically is when the night begins in Berlin, but I think by that point most had been suitably and adequately impressed by what had gone on.

This experiment worked in so many ways. The art was successful both as a piece of art and as an innovative venue space for film and music. Moreover, the tripartite marriage between this space, visual art and electronic music was successful and gave birth to a great night. Indeed, this is just one of many successful events that have been put on during this exhibition, which begs the question: should there be a permanent venue like this where other such marriages could take place? The events aside, the exhibition is definitely worth a look and ends on the 29th August, with daily showings of a variety of films and with a ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN ON THE DOOR’ policy there is really no excuse not to venture down to the Roundhouse in the very near future.

By Dominic John

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