A TRULY MAGICAL MOMENT

Adam Basanta

2016
Interactive kinetic sculpture
2 iPhones 4S, selfie sticks, aluminum, electronics, bluetooth chips, FaceTime video chat software

Two lovers in the middle of the dance floor. They link arms and begin to spin. The room blurs as they stare deep into each other’s eyes.
Most iconically captured in the 1997 epic, Titanic, the classic scene is found throughout modern romantic cinema, complete with over-the-shoulder and point-of-view cinematography. In A Truly Magical Moment, visitors re-enact this “Magical Moment” using the contemporary communication tool for many long-distance relationships: Apple’s proprietary FaceTime technology.
Gallery visitors and online guests use their iPhones or computers to video chat the two FaceTime accounts. When two guests connect in a virtual face-to-face, the sculpture begins to spin. Reaching dizzying speeds as romantic music play, the background blurs and warps, while the image of your dance-partner remains in focus.

After one «Magical» minute - a wordless, “genuine connection” with another person - the rotation slows to a standstill, while a digital counter keeps count of the amount of “Magical Moments” enabled throughout the exhibition.

The work echoes cinematic and web-tropes with irony, humor, and absurdity, yet remains strangely genuine.

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