El Autotono

Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico
October – November 2008

Project produced with the great help of Nrmal
It was first presented during the Mutek Festival in Mexico City.

The Autotono is a mobile installation built in order to explore how people can interact with an artwork in a public space. My idea was to create a kind of puzzle with 3 designs mixed-up and observe how the people can change them trying to find the original designs (or not!). What I was interested in was not to see people completing the puzzle but to register all the intermediate compositions that were created without my control during the process. My idea with this experiment was essentially to observe and learn.

I was interested in observing the results of the Autotono in different situations, so we build it with wheels to be able to move it easily. We installed it, in busy streets, touristic squares, in parties, in a design fair, in a park, in a school…

The name “Autotono” states for automobile (“un auto” is “a car” in Spanish) and automatic (automaticly created compositions, without the intervention of the artist).

Thanks a lot to Ofimodul for letting us use their spare wood, their installation and for the great help of their workers. Pictures by Rafa, Lalo, Nrmal and Eltono.

Direct links to the picture galleries:

1 – Building pictures
2 – Mexico City pictures
3 – Monterrey pictures
4 – States pictures
5 – Simulation video

Building the Autotono:

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The Autotono in Mexico City, during the Mutek festival:

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The Autotono in Monterrey:

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The different states the Autotono passed through:

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Simulation video:

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Check that small interview from the Design Week Monterrey (in Spanish).

PLAF

PLAF – Autonomous Mechanisms
New York, U.S.A.
August – September 2008

Project in collaboration with MOMO
www.eltono.com/plaf

During August and September 2008, with my friend and artist MOMO, we have been setting up, without any kind of permission, kinetic sculptures in the New York waterways.

Plaf is a word for splash in both Spanish and French and relates to the on-going project that features kinetic sculptures that have been placed and fastened in several locations in the New York Waterways. Constructed from used materials, the work will be left to the elements as a way to explore the force and power of water that goes unused and unnoticed in New York City. Using the rivers water, wind, tides, and currents, the sculptures will shift and decay, leaving the work just as it is without comment on form or representation.

An indoor exhibition happened at the same time at the Anonymous Gallery.

You can find the complete documentation on the blog of the project: www.eltono.com/plaf

List of the installations we did during the project:

Hallet’s Cove

Momo Eltono - PLAF Hallets Cove - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/hallets-cove

Thrash Islands

Momo Eltono - PLAF Trash Island - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/thrash-islands

Broadway Beach

MOMO Eltono - PLAF Broadway Beach - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/broadway-beach

East River Park

Momo Eltono - PLAF East River Park - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/east-river-state-park

Gantry Plaza

Momo Eltono - PLAF Gantry Plaza - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/gantry-plaza-state-park

Plaf Maker

Momo Eltono - PLAF Maker - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/plaf-maker

The Plaf Exhibition

Momo Eltono - PLAF Exhibition - NY

www.eltono.com/plaf/the-plaf-exhibition

Map of the project with the instalations locations: maps.google.com/maps/plaf

Bermellón

ROJO-Artspace
Barcelona, Spain
July 7th – August 8th 2008

To expose street art in a gallery is always delicate. Without the surrounding elements, the work usually loses its sense. In order to solve this problem, Eltono always tries to create a relation between the street and the gallery. For the exhibition Bermellón, the artist presents/displays collages of wood found in the streets of Barcelona which will use as the support to paint his Invertidos inspired by art originally made in the streets. The Invertidos paintings are inverted interpretations of original works that are in the public space, thus, the artist, works with the emptiness makes the reference to the original ono es, without reproducing or falsifying them and simultaneously questioning the limits of outdoor and indoor exhibitions.

Very special thanks to Sixe, to let me work in his studio!

Astillas

(Splinters/Échardes)
La Culpable
Sucre 101, Barranco, Lima, Peru
June 2008

Project realised with the help of the Ambassade de france au Pérou and curated by Jules Bay.

(Spanish)

Astillas se pretende como una experiencia creativa compartida entre Eltono y el espectador. La instalación irá adquiriendo las formas que el público desee darle al mover las piezas de lugar y establecer todas las combinaciones posibles e imaginables, la instalación irá adquiriendo también la forma de los deseos de todos los participantes. Y a través de ese sencillo modelo de armado y desarmado permanente, la obra dejará de pertenecer a una sola persona, se hará literalmente astillas y será parte de todos. Empiece a mover las piezas y déle rienda suelta a su voluntad.

Video:

Pictures:

Street Art

Tate Modern
Londres, Reino Unido
23 de mayo – 25 agosto 2008
Mural en colaboración con Nuria Mora
Comisariado por Cedar Lewisohn y Rafael Schacter

The Street Art Walking Tour: Un recorrido de arte site-specific alrededor del museo; parte de la exposición Street Art.

eltono-nuria-tate-modern

Street Art

Tate Modern
London, U.K.
May 23rd – August 25th 2008

Curated by Cedar Lewisohn and Rafael Schacter

The Street Art Walking Tour:
An urban tour of site-specific art from a group of five Madrid-based street artists: 3TTMan, Spok, Nano 4814, Eltono and Nuria Mora.

For the Walking Tour, I painted four pieces in the streets around the Tate and did the Public/Private signboards installation in collaboration with Nuria Mora.

www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/street-art/street-art-walking-tour

Especially for the event, I designed a 9 colours silkscreen print, edited by the Tate Modern, you can see it in the Boutique here: www.eltono.com/en/boutique/patchwork-print

Eltono Tate Modern London

Download this map as your guide: https://www.tate.org.uk/file/street-art-exhibition-walking-tour

Nomadaz

A Mediterranean Art Connection

SCION Installation L.A.
3521 Helms Ave. Culver City, CA, U.S.A.
March 8th – March 29th 2008
Curated by Pablo Aravena

Featuring artists:
108 (Italy), Bo130 (Italy), Dem (Italy), Eltono (Spain), Microbo (Italy), Nano 4814 (Spain), Nuria Mora (Spain), and Sixe (Spain).