interactive chambers of color chromosaturation by carlos cruz diez

‘chromosaturation’, 1965-2012 by carlos cruz-diezsite-specific environment composed of fluorescent lights with blue, red and green filters)image courtesy of americas society gallery, new york. photo © arturo sanchez

franco-venezuelan artist carlos cruz-diez has been exploring the concept of color since the movimiento cinético (kinetic movement) of the 1950s and 1960s – with his renowned immersive works ‘chromosaturation’ in development since 1965 available for viewing at the musée en herbe in paris until the 16th of december, 2012 and also the museo universitario arte contemporàneo (muac) in mexico until the 10th of february, 2013. the work is an interactive manufactured habitat composed of three color chambers – red, green and blue – that invites visitors to be engulfed by its tri-stimulus womb-like environment.

the chromatic spaces act as detonators to alter the perception of its audience – modifying skin color, clothing and objects – shocking viewers’ retinas from the changing visual saturation as they move from booth to booth. cruz-diez experiments with the spectator’s quotidian experience of color, disrupting the way light is processed by the human eye – creating an aesthetic universe that submerges the observer in the artist’s autonomous reality of color, time and space.

the artist has been exploring the concept of color since the movimiento cinético (kinetic movement) of the 1950s and 1960simage © carlos cruz diez

the work is an interactive manufactured habitat composed of three color chambers – red, green and blueimage © carlos cruz diez

the chromatic spaces act as detonators to alter the perception of its audience – modifying skin color, clothing and objectsimage © carlos cruz diez

cruz-diez experiments with the spectator’s quotidian experience of color, disrupting the way light is processed by the human eyeimage © carlos cruz diez