ENGLISH

An exhibition by the artistEUGÈNIA BALCELLSEugènia Balcells was born in 1943 in Barcelona, where she studied Technical Architecture. She moved to New York in 1968 and completed her training at the University of Iowa (Master’s degree in Art, 1971). Until 1979, she divided her time between Barcelona and New York, before settling in the United States. In 1988, she once again divided her time between the two cities. She was one of the pioneers of experimental film and audiovisual art in Spain. In 2010, on the occasion of her exhibition FREQUENCIES, the Consell Nacional de la Cultura i les Arts awarded her the Premi Nacional d’Arts Visuals (National Visual Arts Prize) of the Generalitat de Catalunya Catalan Government, shortly after receiving from HRH King Juan Carlos I the Medalla al Mérito en las Bellas Artes 2009 (Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts), for her body of work.

With the curatorEULÀLIA BOSCHEulàlia Bosch (Barcelona, 1949) is a lecturer in Philosophy, an exhibition curator and creator of projects that bring together the arts, education and urban life. In the field of artistic projects, she is the creator and curator of exhibition such as “Mysterious Creatures” (1992), “The Magic Box” (1993), “Seeing the Light: Eugènia Balcells” (1996), “Remembering is Making a Memory” (1997), “The City of Words” (1998), “Oteiza” (2000) and FREQUENCIES (2009 -...), all of which have been accompanied by educational outreach projects.In 1995, she set up the Education Department of the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA), which she directed until 1999.

FREQUENCIES is an artistic project that explores the journey of light from the emission spectra of the chemical elements to the formation of cinematographic images, and is based around the central installations FREQUENCIES and COLOR WHEEL.

The project is designed to include new pieces and extend the programme of complementary activities as it travels. The presentation in Barcelona incorporated the installation LABYRINTH (based on the Labyrinth in Horta), and MARBLE was included in the presentation in Badajoz, to dialogue with the quarries of Alentejo.

Each of the installations that make up FREQUENCIES includes a soundtrack created from the vibration of 49 aluminium bars, seeking to link light and the sound of matter.

A WALK THROUGH THE EXHIBITION is a 5-minute video showing FREQUENCIES installed in the Museum of Contemporary Art of A Coruña (MACUF, December 2010-June 2011).

FREQUENCIES is the installation that serves as a prologue to the exhibition and gives it its name. It is a work based on the intersection on the light spectra emitted by chemical elements. It uses a metaphorical language to show that matter is essentially light.

COLOR WHEEL consists of the projection of a fabric of images from multiple visual registers onto a mechanism of turning screens that becomes a universal compendium of the human experience of color. At the same time, the physical form of the installation is an invitation to think about the endlessly complex theme of human perception.

Color Wheel

Labyrinth Marble Sound

FrequenciesA Walk through the Exhibition

The exhibition FREQUENCIES is available to tour as of January 2012

EULÀLIA BOSCHc/Sant Agustí 3, 2ºA08012 BarcelonaTel. 93 416 1545lalibosch@telefonica.netwww.gaolletres.net

CONTACTSEUGÈNIA BALCELLSc/Còpernic 37, planta baja08021 BarcelonaTel. 93 209 6386info@eugeniabalcells.comwww.eugeniabalcells.comaraahoranow.blogspot.com

FREQUENCIES

COMMENTS

FREQUENCIES is a beautiful presentation of what I tried to instil into my biochemistry students: “Life is a passage of light”.

(Federico Mayor Zaragoza, president of “Fundación para una Cultura de Paz”)

Eugènia Balcells has constructed a fascinating device: the turning screens reproduce a multiplicity of views in time that coexist to infinity—that is, an aleph. This exceptional piece is, in itself, a technological challenge.

(J. M. Martí Font in El País newspaper)

“In FREQUENCIES, we are at once spectators and part of the exhibition.”

(Manolo R. Bermejo, Professor of Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela)

FREQUENCIES is for me a deeply moving experience at many levels: its beauty, the peace it inspires, the curiosity it awakens, and the way it brings together scientific realities to make poetry out of everyday life. Seeing it produced sensations very similar to the different registers created by seeing a film by Tarkovsky or looking at a Rothko painting.

(Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology, University of Oxford)

How can an exhibition produce a film like RICE IS PLANTED WITH RICE? It’s fabulous! I’ve always believed in Eugènia and time has proved me right. Seeing just how far her work is going thrills me—in fact, it makes me very proud.

(Marisa Diez de la Fuente, Director of Galeria Ciento in Barcelona)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

FREQUENCIES has a trilingual catalogue (Catalan, Spanish and English) with articles by Vicenç Altaió (poet), Antonio Franco (art historian) Josep Perelló (physicist) Ramon Espelt (mathematician) Marta Llorente (architect) and Eulàlia Bosch, Philosophy graduate and curator of the exhibition.

RICE IS PLANTED WITH RICE is a film, made by Eugènia Balcells, that records the effect of the FREQUENCIES project in educational circles. It documents the projects carried out by primary and secondary schools and university faculties after visiting the exhibition.

To mark International Year of Chemistry (2011), the Periodic Table has been published, incorporating the emission spectres of the elements, as another publication in the project, entitled A TRIBUTE TO THE ELEMENTS.

The work space, where the light spectra of each of the elements in the periodic table were mounted on the walls, prompted academic debates that became long-term projects at education centres.

Documentation and Activities Space

CatalogueLrLawrenci103

NoNobeli102

MdMendelevi101

FmFermi100

EsEinsteini99

CfCaliforni98

BkBerkeli97

CmCuri96

AmAmerici95

PuPlutoni94

NpNeptuni93

UUrani92

PaProtoactini91

ThTori90

LuLuteci71

YbIterbi70

TmTuli69

ErErbi68

HoHolmi67

DyDisprosi66

TbTerbi65

GdGadolini64

EuEuropi63

SmSamari62

PmPrometi61

NdNeodimi60

PrPraseodimi59

CeCeri58

CnCopernici112

RgRoentgeni111

SgSeaborgi106

DbDubni105

RfRutherfordi104

AcActini89

RaRadi88

FrFranci87

BhBohri107

HsHassi108

MtMeitneri109

DsDarmstadti110

RnRadó86

AtÀstat85

PoPoloni84

BiBismut83

PbPlom82

TlTal·li81

HgMercuri80

AuOr79

WTungstè74

TaTàntal73

HfHafni72

LaLantani57

BaBari56

CsCesi55

ReReni75

OsOsmi76

IrIridi77

PtPlatí78

XeXenó54

IIode53

TeTel·luri52

SbAntimoni51

SnEstany50

InIndi49

CdCadmi48

AgPlata47

MoMolibdè42

NbNiobi41

ZrZirconi40

YItri39

SrEstronci38

RbRubidi37

TcTecneci43

RhRodi45

RuRuteni44

PdPal·ladi46

KrCriptó36

BrBrom35

SeSeleni34

AsArsènic33

ZnZinc30

CuCoure29

MnManganès25

CrCrom24

VVanadi23

TiTitani22

ScEscandi21

CaCalci20

KPotassi19

GeGermani32

GaGal·li31

FeFerro26

CoCobalt27

NiNíquel28

ArArgó18

ClClor17

SSofre16

PFòsfor15

SiSilici14

AlAlumini1312

MgMagnesi

NaSodi11

NeNeó 10

FFluor9

OOxigen8

NNitrogen7

CCarboni6

BBor5

BeBeril·li4

LiLiti 3

HeHeli 2

HHidrogen1

HOMENATGE ALS ELEMENTSEugènia Balcells

Homenatge als elements va néixer com a contrapunt a la vídeo-instal·lació d’Eugènia Balcells Freqüències (2009), una pel·lícula sense fi on l’empremta lumínica que cadascun dels elements emet es fon amb les dels altres configurant així una veritable metàfora de l’origen de l’univers.

UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA

FREQUENCIES ENGLISHThe exhibition FREQUENCIES is available to tour as of January 2012

’ordena

The installation FREQUENCIES consists of a large-scale projection onto silver-painted walls on which the emission spectra of the elements form a great continuous fabric. It is accompanied by a periodic table in which each of the elements is represented by its chemical symbol and by the light spectrum it emits. The two visual components of the work—the videographic projection and the distribution of the elements on the wall according to the arrangement proposed by Mendeleev—are positioned facing each other so that the spectator can never look at them both at the same time.Part of the installation’s sound recording is situated beneath the bench, also silver painted, where the spectators can sit to behold it.

FREQUENCIES INSTALLATIONFREQUENCIES

The installation COLOR WHEEL consists of a simultaneous projection using three high-definition projectors onto 7 screens, 4 m high, turning slowly on a central axis powered from the top by a small motor. The light of the images shines beyond the screens onto the wall opposite the projectors, painted silver, which serves to reflect the videographic information.

The installation’s sound is heard through four loudspeakers located in the ceiling above the rotating screen mechanism.

COLOR WHEEL INSTALLATIONFREQUENCIES

Technical specificationsFREQUENCIESFREQUENCIES COLOR WHEEL LABYRINTH AND MARBLE DOCUMENTATION AND

ACTIVITY SPACE

SOUND BARS

RICE IS PLANTED WITH RICE

Projection of a high-definition

video onto silver-painted surfaces

Space:

The size of the projection depends on

the space available (minimum 7 x 14

x 4 m high).

Projection onto silver-painted walls

Completely dark with no windows,

grey-carpeted floor

Periodic table:

Mounted in the same space, opposite

the projection

Minimum space 7 x 3 m

Lighting with 6 spotlights with

dimmers

Video equipment:

1 high-definition projector

1 Blu-Ray player with 5.1 audio

outputs and HDMI video input

Audio equipment:

5.1 professional sound equipment

6 high quality speakers

Cables:

6 RCA audio outputs (10 m or more)

1 HDMI cable for HD projector / Blu-

ray

Electrical cables and the necessary

multiple sockets

Projection of HD video on a large

screen or a surface painted with

special pearly white paint.

Space:

The size of the projection will depend

on the space available (minimum 6

m wide x 3.5-4 m high).

Walls and ceiling painted black,

black-carpeted floor

Video equipment:

HD projector

A Blu-ray player with stereo audio

outputs and HDMI video input

Audio equipment:

Professional stereo sound equipment

with high quality speakers

Cables:

6 RCA audio outputs (10 m or more)

1 HDMI cable for HD projector / Blu-

ray

Electricity cables and the necessary

multiple sockets

Three high-definition video projections

onto a rotating screen mechanism,

4 m high, created specially for this

installation.

Space:

Minimum required for installation: 10 x

10 m or 14 x 7 m

Ceiling height: 4 m

Wall opposite the projectors painted grey

and other walls and ceiling painted black.

Black-carpeted floor.

Video equipment:

3 high-definition projectors

3 Blu-ray players with 4.0 audio outputs

and HDMI video input

Audio equipment:

Option A:

4 powered speakers with RCA / JACK

connection directly to the Blu-ray player

Option B:

A professional stereo amplifier with 4

channels

Cables:

4 RCA audio outputs (10 m or more)

3 HDMI cables for HD / Blu-ray projector

Power cables and necessary multiple

sockets

Screening of a high-definition video onto a

rotating screen mechanism created specially

for this installation.

Rotating screens:

LABYRINTH – 1.85 x 1.85 m

MARBLE – 2.40 x 1.50 m

Space (for each installation):

Minimum required for each installation: 10 x 7 m

Ceiling height: 3.5 m

Walls opposite the projectors painted grey and

other walls and ceiling painted black. Black-

carpeted floor.

Video equipment (for each installation):

1 HD projector

1 Blu-ray player with 4.0 audio outputs and HDMI

video input

Audio equipment (for each installation):

Option A:

4 powered speakers with RCA / JACK connection

directly to the Blu-ray player

Option B:

A professional stereo amplifier with 4 channels

4 high quality speakers

Cables (for each installation):

4 RCA audio outputs (10 m or more)

3 HDMI cables for HD / Blu-ray projector

Power cables and necessary multiple sockets

Space:

The space must form part of the exhibition

without interrupting its layout. Its size will

depend on the conditions of each gallery.

Projected onto one of the walls is a route

through the work of Eugènia Balcells based

on a CD-ROM, another presents a selection

of elements from the periodic table and,

finally, a space is set aside for educational

activities, with the possibility of projection.

Equipment needed:

Two computers, two projectors and one or

two screens (or surfaces painted with special

pearly white paint).

Furniture:

Chairs, tables with desk lighting and a

lectern for the catalogue

Space:

Minimum required: 8 x 3 m

Support:

An aluminium bar, 6 m long

Lighting:

6 spotlights with dimmers

Plan of the exhibition

INSTALLATION PLAN FOR FREQUENCIES MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO GAS NATURAL FENOSA (MACUF) - A CORUÑA

FREQUENCIES adapts to different exhibition spaces and can include all the installations available, incorporate new ones or present just a selection.

This plan shows the installation of FREQUENCIES at the MACUF in A Coruña, where it ran from December 2010 to June 2011.

FREQUENCIES

In response to the interest aroused among scientists who visited the exhibition, we have published two versions of A TRIBUTE TO THE ELEMENTS with the collaboration of the Physics and Chemistry Faculties and the Vice-Chancellorship of Art, Culture and Heritage of Barcelona University, the Societat Catalana de Física and the Societat Catalana de Química, with the sponsorship of the companies Solvay and BASF.

The edition will be presented in the framework of International Year of Chemistry, at the Chemistry Faculty of Barcelona University in autumn 2011.The presentation will include the unveiling of the permanent installation of A TRIBUTE TO THE ELEMENTS on one of the walls of the faculty library.

An edition of 500 copies measuring 136 x 96 cm, presented in 100-cm cardboard tubes, will be on sale in the bookstore of the Chemistry Faculty of Barcelona University for 20€.

Virtual bookstore of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans:

Edition of 20 copies numbered and signed by the artist.Each consists of a box measuring 36 x 25.5 x 6 cm with a presentation by the Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Dr Santiago Alvarez, each of the elements in the table on plates of 34 x 24 cm and a complete fold-out periodic table that serves as a guide for mounting an installation of 6.50 x 2.80 m, approximately.

A TRIBUTE TO THE ELEMENTS

This periodic table brings together in a single image the two icons of physics and chemistry: the emission spectra and the periodic table of elements. It forms part of the video-installation FREQUENCIES and is a counterpoint to the endless film in which the trace of light emitted by each of the elements merges with those of the others, thereby producing a true metaphor of the origin of the universe.

FREQUENCIES