Space Odyssey: Oktophonie sends listeners into orbit

For a new production of the classic electronic symphony Oktophonie, composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tiravanija created a ‘ritualised lunar experience’, cloaking guests in white and seating them within a circular illuminated disc.

The composition is played from eight separate sound sources, making it impossible to reproduce in stereo. The result is an immersive soundscape that listeners can only experience from the inside. Coordinated lighting bouncing off the Armory’s high metal girders creates the sensation of being inside a cavernous spacecraft.

In May 2012, the Armory presented Space Program: Mars by Tom Sachs, in which the artist created sculptures intended to be useful on a voyage to Mars.

Fatigued by unresolved economic doldrums and austerity, consumers are looking to science and outer space for solutions and escapism. We explore this movement in detail in our Re-Enlightenment Rising macrotrend