ZERO
«Light Room (Hommage à Fontana)»

A ‘Light and Movement’ category was added at very short notice to the ‘documenta III’ exhibition, which had otherwise been limited to painting, drawing and sculpture. The three ZERO artists developed a joint ‘Light Room’ which they dedicated to Lucio Fontana in protest against the organizer’s failure to invite Fontana to participate in the show. The installation presents seven works produced between 1960 and 1964, among them the collectively made works ‘Silbermühle’ (‘Silver Mill’) and ‘Weiße Lichtmühle’ (‘White Light Mill’) (both on right of picture). A timer controls the circling dynamos, meaning the space is subjected to constant alteration, as if in accordance with a score. Compared to the traditional genres favoured at the ‘documenta III’, this was a new type of work of art: sculptural objects, in part collaboratively produced, which deploy light to ‘draw’ in space and make it possible to experience the process of time.