2016 Catalogue Archive

Juan Fontanive’s kinetic sculptures – described by the artist as “films without light” – immediately draw the viewer in with their uncanny simulations of animal movement. Fontanive’s hand-tooled mechanized flip book moves through 72 double-sided screen prints based on the artist’s hand-drawn images of multicolor moths. The insects float in and out of frame, animated by the device that rotates through the images at half the rate of film. This slowed down speed allows for the viewer to better see each component of the work: the Ben-Day dots visible from the printing process, the seam of the two prints meeting, and the edges of the images as they approach and recede from view. These analog elements add to the physical quality of the piece, along with the mechanical sound of the machine as it operates, suggesting the hurried flight of wings.