The Gamelatron Jalan Jiwo: Opening Reception

The Gamelatron Jalan Jiwo is a robotic network of vibraphones, drums, chimes, bells, and resonating bronze gongs site-specifically installed for the Clocktower Gallery. The installation completely envelops the viewer in the polyphonies developed by A Taylor Kuffner for his mechanized orchestra. Drawing inspiration from the Clocktower's own historic bell overhead, the piece functions both as a time-keeping device throughout the day, and as an interactive sound installation, triggered by any visitor to perform a variety of compositions, from short and dramatic bursts of activity and melody to longer form storytelling orchestrations that allow the audience to sink into the pristine gallery space and leave the music to take them over.

A recording of the sounds from the Gamelatron Jalan Jiwo, a robotic, self-playing Gamelan hybrid, composed by artist A Taylor Kuffner as a site-specific installation for the Clocktower. Erected in 2012, Kuffner's installation in the Clocktower's main gallery included some forty instruments manufactured in Bali, including vibraphones, drums, chimes, bells, and resonating bronze gongs, installed on the walls and columns of the space. Visitors were invited to select from a menu of compositions ranging from contemplative to ritualistic orchestrations. When the pieces concluded, or when no visitors were present, the Gamelatron settled into a passive state, referred to as Clock Modeby Kuffner, which played day and night for months. At no time did the installation go totally silent. Clock Mode is a one hour cycle, extremely spare and mysteriously stimulating. The following recording is of that hour, formatted to run for 24 hours.

Jeannie Hopper sits down with Clocktower curator Joe Ahearn and artist A. Taylor Kuffner to discuss the Gamelatron Bunga Kota (City Flower) installation. Kuffner's latest manifestation of The Gamelatron Project appears June 2013 in the Icon Building, a currently empty retail space in the heart of Times Square and was produced in collaboration with Times Square Arts. Joe Ahearn and Jeannie Hopper discuss the Clocktower and Times Square Arts Alliance's efforts to make Times Square a place for not only tourists, but contemporary artists and art world patrons, as well. They also discuss the other projects that the Gallery and the Alliance have worked to exhibit. During the interview, Kuffner reveals how he considers himself a conceptual artist, allowing him to be free of material associations. He stumbled upon the practices of the Gamelan while living in Indonesia and it was when he returned to New York that he found himself reminiscing about the exotic instruments of the Asian culture that he had left behind. After several incarnations of what Kuffner affectionately calls the Gamelatron, he brings Bunga Kota to NYC's urban center; to a space that was a concrete slab. The installation now transforms the physical space and those that experience it. It is located at 785 Eighth Ave. and can be viewed from June 6 - July 26, 2013.