A navy-blue pedestal stands against a red wall. On it, the words “PURGE YOUR ANXIETY,” “LIVE NOW,” and “DEMON FREE” surround the head of a hissing reptile.
With the insertion of a quarter, eerie music begins to play, and the pedestal opens to reveal a rotating three-faced head, identical to a trio emblazoned on the front of the piece.
“A bit much for the youngest visitors, but the high schoolers…” Anne Ricculi’s voice trails off as she admires Lawrence Berzon’s Purge Your Anxiety, part of the Timeless Movements exhibition that runs through Aug. 28, 2022, at the Morris Museum in Morris Township.
It’s the final installment of the four-year A Cache of Kinetic Art automata series, intended to compliment the Museum’s renowned Guinness Collection of mechanical musical instruments, which Ricculi curates.
“Timeless Movements succeeds by empowering established and emerging artists and giving them a space to connect to contemporary audiences with 19th-century mechanical music, automata, and timekeeping technologies, Ricculi says.
These 35 kinetic artworks, she says, underscore the Museum’s mission: “Interpreting the past, discovering the future, through Art, Sound, and Motion.”
When visitors call these installations “moving,” they might mean it quite literally.
There is a mechanical bird in flight (Flying Solo by Chris Fitch), a screen featuring a digital hamburger adorned with stars (Dark Matter_Burger Voyage by Hao Feng), and a clapping machine (Clapper 15 by Bradley N. Litwin), among other surprises.
‘Flying Solo’ by Chris Fitch. Video by Olivia Yepez for MorristownGreen.com:
Many pieces are activated by foot pedals that are accessible to even the youngest of patrons.
The exhibit is divided in half. One half, explains Ricculi, explores the human experience of time, while the other deals with celestial- and repetitive motion.
Fitch’s bird falls into the human experience category. Ricculi says the piece is meant to show how it moves, as an irregularly shaped cam drives the bird’s dips and lifts.
Other works in this section include a buoyant metal cloud suspended above the floor (I Have Nothing But Clouds by Sizhu Li) and a contraption with washers vibrating on metal cords (Bubbles, also by Fitch), which Ricculi says is popular with children.
Not far from Berzon’s pedestal is Joshua Hudak’s Exoplanetarium VIII, a small, strategically illuminated, moving model of the solar system.
“This piece could have easily gotten lost, but it’s the first thing you see when you walk in this direction,” Ricculi says, noting how her staff took care to ensure each element gets attention.
Early on, COVID-19 halted most Museum activities, including the piece selection for Timeless Movements. Eventually, 50 works were submitted and 34 made the cut.
The exhibit’s March opening was well-attended, considering lingering public concerns about the pandemic. Although Timeless Movements has been marketed as the finale to the kinetic series, more marvels may be on the horizon.
“Please don’t worry because this is far from the end of contemporary kinetic art being a big part of what we do here at the Museum,” Andrew Sandall, the Museum’s new president and CEO, said at the opening.
Timeless Movements runs through Aug. 28, 2022, at the Morris Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, Wednesdays through Sundays, 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets: $8-$12; free for active military members and children under 3. At 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morris Township, (973) 971-3700.
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