A huge curved wooden wall, painted white; a 90-square-meter large platform, carrying three motionless compact robots – this stage set in the Dürr Foyer greeted the roughly 150 guests on Thursday evening as they arrived to see the 'premiere' of the machine performance. What is initially barely noticeable to the untrained eye was obvious to the painting specialists in the audience: the robot arms are not equipped with paint atomizers but with 575-watt lamps. At the click of a mouse, the motionless installation came to life. As the robots cast their light onto the wall, the precisely controlled movements created ever-changing light patterns.
What looks playful is actually the result of sophisticated, technical work. Together with Dürr experts, Joachim Fleischer has programmed the robot controls, which drive the movements, based on his own ideas. He has been working in the Dürr Foyer since the end of September, attracting curious looks from employees.
When the idea of the robot art was suggested to Dürr a few months ago, Dr. Hans Schumacher, member of the Dürr Systems AG Board of Management, did not think twice: "We knew we would support the artist by providing him with the robots and our building. His installation makes impressive use of the robots' agility and dynamism." Joachim Fleischer has devoted a lot of time to learning about Dürr, paying several visits this summer to the world-market leader for automotive painting technology. This has also given rise to a photo series featuring robot assembly motifs. His photos will be on display at the Städtische Galerie (municipal gallery) of Bietigheim-Bissingen until October 14.
The White Time installation at Dürr is part of the production art festival “Drehmoment” (Turning Point) in the Stuttgart region. Organized by the inter-municipal KulturRegion Stuttgart initiative, the festival brings together 34 artists and companies to develop creative art forms in an industrial environment. "Dürr is seen as an excellent, international innovation driver in the region. As part of the KulturRegion Stuttgart project, the aim was to make the potential of this global player in the high-tech industry a conscious experience for the senses through artistic perception and interpretation", says Joachim Fleischer about White Time.
The Dürr Foyer, in which the installation is displayed, is open to the public on the following dates: October 12 to 27, 2018, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 to 7pm and Saturdays from 3 to 6pm (Dürr Systems AG, Carl-Benz-Straße 34, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen). Visitors are welcome.