Gordon Matta-Clark 1943-1978
Automation House (1972)
The camera became Gordon Matta-Clark’s companion throughout his artistic career and an instrument of perception for his architectural interventions. Automation House is an exercise in spatial perception and on the role of bodies in a building full of people. By means of a mirror, the artist captures people’s movements in a spectacular manner. The framing alters the normal perspective of the space, while the depth of field allows for different situations to be juxtaposed. A mixture of performance and filmic construction, the work leaves the viewer confused and unable to identify automatically the actions in the image. The principle of framing with mirrors prefigures Matta-Clarks’ famous ‘building cuts’: the reflections in the mirror create openings that transform all architectural logic.