Rosa Barba The Color Out of Space, 2015

The 36 minute HD video The Color Out of Space (2015) forms part of a sculptural film installation which extends the probing of deep time into outer space. The video is composed of images of stars and space gathered at Hirsch Observatory at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and projected through five colored glass filters placed on a steel base positioned between the projector and the screen. The accompanying soundtrack comprises the voices of scientists, artists, and writers reflecting on the universe and its enigmas. An astronomer describes the use of colored glass filters in the imaging of celestial bodies: without these, what the human eye can make out through a telescope are, basically, “white or gray blobs.” Artistic investigation and scientific inquiry reveal themselves as essentially speculative endeavors.

Rosa Barba engages within the medium of film through a sculptural approach. In her works, Barba creates installations and site-specific interventions to analyze the ways film articulates space, placing the work and the viewer in a new relationship. Questions of composition, physicality of form and plasticity play an important role for the artist as Barba examines the industry of cinema and its staging vis-à-vis gesture, genre, information and documents. Her film works are situated between experimental documentary and fictional narrative. They often focus on natural landscapes and human-made interventions into the environment and explore the relationship of historical records, personal anecdotes, and filmic representation, creating spaces of memory and uncertainty.

COLLECTIONS:
#1/3: INELCOM Foundation
#2/3: CNAP–Centre national des arts plastiques, Puteaux
#3/3: Sammlung Hoffmann, Berlin

SALE SPECIFICATIONS:
The work can only be sold to institutions or publicly accessible private collections.

COMPONENTS INCLUDED IN SALE:
– HD video file (master and exhibition copies)
– 5 colored glass panes
– Steel base table with rails for glass panes
– Certificate of authenticity and installation guidelines

COMPONENTS NOT INCLUDED IN SALE:
– Video projector (Full HD projector, preferably DLP technology, without visible frames, image output 16:9, at least 6000 ANSI-lumen, the chosen projector model should be confirmed with the artist's studio)
– Sound system (2x speakers and 1x subwoofer). Reference specifications for audio equipment, speakers: d&b audiotechnik E3 /E5 /E6 /5S operated through amplifier D20 /D80 /10D /30D /D6 /D12 with the most recent firmware; subwoofer: d&b audiotechnik 12S-SUB* /E12X-SUB
– Video source/player (recommended: iMac mini)

INSTALLATION SPECIFICATIONS:
– Minimum space required: 5 x 3 m.
– The walls should be painted gray (color reference: color RAL 7010 or RAL 7005).
– The space should be entirely dark.
– Acoustic reverberation time: max. 10 msec or less. Install acoustic absorbers if needed.
– The projector should be hidden inside a hollow wall (existing or constructed). A circular opening should be cut at the height of the lens, 110 cm approx from the floor. The image projected around the projection hole (reflected from the glass panels) is part of the work. Installation drawings will be provided.
– The output of the video is 16:9. This must be set in the media player/video source.
– The volume of the sound should be set loud enough so that the spoken text is understandable and clear.