Peter Flemming

January 15, 2013

In Norway we met Peter Flemming who describes his approach to his artistic work with the following words.

“I look at what I make as the electro-mechanical equivalents of short stories. Naturally, every good story needs some tension to keep it going. In my machinic ‘texts,’ I try to create tension by intermixing different systems. Organic ones blend with technological ones, the old with the new, and the handmade with the machine-made. And rather than words, sentences and paragraphs, I use bolts, batteries, metal, and custom electronics.

Mistakes and accidents frequently shape the course of my artwork. They typically occur when I have met some kind of technical or financial limitation, or some material quirk asserts itself contrary to my aims. After much hair pulling, occasionally I realize that the unintended behaviour is interesting in itself. I drop the original goal and pick up a new path, letting it lead me along instead of trying to bend it to suit pre-determined criteria. Knowing how to read these hidden signposts as they reveal themselves is a crucial part of my process.”

In Norway we had the opportunity to see his work Instrumentation a beautiful sonic piece creating complexity out of very basic element. We particularly enjoyed the bare look and the high complexity gained by the artistic combination of simple elements. Once in a while the system would reach its own resonance point and chime through the room.

In the following video you can catch some impressions of the described work and follow Peter’s explanation

Find more information (with many videos) on his web site: http://peterflemming.ca

P.s.: Interested in resonance watch the following video!