In the heart of Kalocsa, Hungary, stands the Nicolas Schöffer Collection—a testament to Schöffer's pioneering contributions to kinetic and cybernetic art. This past weekend, we were privileged to visit the museum. In this article, we delve into his journey as represented by the museum’s permanent collection and explore how he fused space, light, time and technology.

The 20th century marked a technical-scientific revolution. This shift transformed the lives of millions and significantly influenced artists who sought innovative ways to respond to our rapidly evolving world. Nicolas Schöffer engaged with cutting-edge scientific advancements, aiming to illustrate the complexities of the modern world in which we now live.

Nicolas Schöffer Collection, Kalocsa, Hungary / Photo: Kate Vass Galerie

Born on September 6, 1912, in the scenic town of Kalocsa, Hungary, Nicolas Schöffer was exposed to diverse influences early on. His violinist mother encouraged his artistic interest, while his lawyer father gave him practical sensibilities. Despite his artistic tendencies, concerns about the sustainability of an art career led Schöffer to study law in Budapest. However, after his law studies, he followed his heart to the Academy of Fine Arts. By 1936, drawn by the attraction of a broader artistic landscape, he relocated to Paris. While his early works leaned towards expressionism and surrealism, the ‘International Exposition of Art and Technology’ in Paris impacted Schöffer, spurring his interest in melding scientific research with art. This experience reshaped his artistic style, pushing him towards the innovative approach that would define his entire career. From 1947, Schöffer's artistry began to flourish. He pioneered cybernetic sculptures, integrating light, movement, sound, and the progression of time. He was not only a painter but also a sculptor, architect, city planner, art theorist, and experimental artist who consistently pondered art's societal influence and its position therein.

After relocating to Paris, Schöffer frequently visited his hometown. As we learned during our visit, he generously donated a collection—consisting of 40 pieces that represent his oeuvre—to Kalocsa in 1979. Recognizing its significance, the town acquired and renovated the artist's family home, located on Kalocsa's main street, and transformed it into a museum. The museum opened its doors as the 'Schöffer Museum' in November 1980. Lajos Dargay, in collaboration with Schöffer's students and colleagues, curated the first permanent exhibit. Later Dargay assumed the role of overseeing the museum for the next three decades. Since 1994, the museum has undergone several expansions. In the 1990s, the artist's widow, Eléonore de Lavandeyra Schöffer, added a library to the institution, and the museum began hosting temporary exhibitions. In the 2010s, the museum underwent another renovation to meet contemporary museum standards and was renamed the ‘Nicolas Schöffer Collection’.

Nicolas Schöffer, Petit sec, 1970s at Nicolas Schöffer Collection / Photo: Kate Vass Galerie

As we wandered through the museum, the ground floor of the museum features a community space, information desk, museum shop, cafe, and areas for temporary exhibitions. On the upper floor, we found the permanent exhibition displays Schöffer's works, which are organized into three main thematic sections: early space-dynamic pieces, his light-dynamic works, and the time-dynamic artworks.

In the 1940s, Schöffer began creating constructivist spatial sculptures and reliefs, exploring the intricate relationship between space and motion. He conceptualized abstract forms in three-dimensional space. Inspired by the theories of constructivism and Mondrian’s Neoplasticism, he formulated his theory of ‘space-dynamism’ in 1948.

While traditional art focuses on the material, color, light, and their combinations, space-dynamism utilizes these elements as tools to emphasize space. For Schöffer, space became the primary subject of his artistic pursuits. He constructed metal base frames and decorated them with rectangular aluminum and steel sheets, capturing what he termed "spaceergy". The airy design of these sculptures features vast empty spaces that the structure collects in a constructive way. A central aim of these works is to transcend their material constraints. Due to their reflective, flat metal surfaces, the artworks seem to occupy more space than their actual size suggests. These metal components also soften the strictly constructed forms. The play of shadows and reflections allow the surrounding environment to integrate with the sculpture. Although most of these pieces remain stationary, their dynamic nature becomes apparent as we could move around them.

On display were many of these pieces such as ‘Space-Dynamic 19’ or ‘Space-Dynamic 24’. With ‘Petit Sec’, the influence of Mondrian’s Neoplasticism is evident in the color palette use, as the metal plates affixed to the black frame are painted in red, blue, white, and yellow.

In the mid-1950s, Schöffer began a new phase of his artistic journey, experimenting with shadows and light. This exploration led to the creation of his ‘light-dynamic’ objects. By 1957, he began crafting kinetic sculptures decorated with polished plates. These plates, reflecting light, produced a captivating and ever-changing dance of illumination. Schöffer utilized various techniques, such as placing colored papers between the sculpture and its light source, swapping lenses, and altering the direction of the light.

Nicolas Schöffer, Petit lux, 1960s at Nicolas Schöffer Collection / Photo: Kate Vass Galerie

He named these creations the ‘LUX-series’, drawing its name from the unit of luminous emittance ‘lux’. Several pieces from the LUX-series are displayed in the exhibition. While he maintained the structural form of his earlier space-dynamic pieces — crafting horizontal and vertical square profiles — he transitioned from rectangular plates to larger, rounded shapes or gridded metal sheets. He incorporated materials known for their reflective, mirroring, and light-filtering abilities. When illuminated from diverse angles, the different aluminum surfaces project light in all directions, crafting intricate shadow plays. The resulting shadows cast onto the surrounding walls become an essential aspect of the artwork itself.

Schöffer's next endeavor was to unite the effects of light with the relationship between space and time within the same artwork. This led him to explore time, resulting in the development of the ‘time-dynamic’ group of works. It was during this period that Schöffer discovered Norbert Wiener's work on cybernetic principles, which influenced his artistic direction. In 1948 Norbert Wiener published his book ‘Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine’ which revolutionized our understanding of systems, control, and communication across animals, machines, and organizations. Nicolas Schöffer's ‘Chronos-series’ became living embodiments of Wiener's concept.

As we observed the Chronos-series pieces, we were captivated by how they were cybernetically controlled, driven by electric motors, making even their foundational structures rotate. The small reflective elements affixed to the metal frame operated according to individual motion programs. Their hidden cameras and microphones capture the colors, light, and sound of their surroundings, allowing the sculpture to adjust its movements, light, and sound effects accordingly. These works respond to their external environment. Their behavior mirrors that of living beings, even though they are guided by mathematics rather than biological life.

Not far from the collection, at the city's bus station, stands 'CHRONOS 8' – Hungary's only public cybernetic artwork. This impressive 27-meter-high tower, erected in 1982, operates on a cybernetic program. Hidden microphones relay the traffic noise to an electronic system, which then governs the motors adjusting the movable metal mirrors. As traffic intensifies, these mirrors pulsate in sync with their rhythm. The tower's activities align with the city's pulse: it rests when the city sleeps, awakens as the city stirs, and vibrates in harmony with urban life. Beyond this particular piece, other variations of Chronos-towers have graced cities such as Washington, Montevideo, San Francisco, Bonn, Munich, Paris, Pont-d'Ain, and Lyon. On the comprehensive map, we could locate all the locations of these works.

Nicolas Schöffer, Chronos 6 (1960s), Chronos 1 (1960s) and Chronos 5 (1960s) at Nicolas Schöffer Collection / Photo: Kate Vass Galerie

Apart from these three main phases in Schöffer's career, the exhibition also showcases other captivating works, highlighting the complexity and diversity of his art.

One of the highlights for us was the piece titled ‘Prism’. Standing in front of its three large mirrors, we found ourselves lost in a labyrinth of reflections. A projected light interacts with a moving sculpture by Schöffer situated behind the work, casting reflections onto the prism. When leaning into the prism, the design immerses viewers in a realm where movement, rhythm, and dual projections combine for a captivating visual experience.

In 'Microtime', Schöffer delved into the neural process of vision, specifically the roughly 30-millisecond gap between light hitting the retina and the brain forming the image. These artworks, open on one side, feature illuminated moving, reflective components positioned against a curved mirrored background. The interplay of light, generated by the motion, speeds up to a point where it looks like a seamless curtain of light at the limit of human perception. Then it drastically slows down, fragmenting into distinct points of light.

'Varetra' is another significant piece on exhibit. It's a black box with an adjustable backlight. Schöffer added colorful plates into a slot and invited visitors to do the same. We followed his footsteps, inserting colorful plates into a designated slot, managing to create our very own kinetic artwork. Schöffer also donated similar creations to local kindergartens to foster creativity in the younger generation.

Tragically, Schöffer suffered a severe stroke that paralyzed his right hand, halting his capability to create large-scale artworks. Despite this setback, his passion for art never waned, and he continued to explore new forms of expression. He began creating graphics using his left hand. Utalizing the silk screen-printing technique, he produced the so-called ‘Varigraphs’, representing one of the final dimensions of the ‘space - light - time dynamic’. The shapes they form adhere to the golden ratio's harmonious rules. The color selection is precise: pure colors, specifically red, blue, black, and white, and their respective shades.

At the end of the exhibition, we had the opportunity to watch a short film featuring the artist as he delves into his masterpieces, inspirations, and contributions. The film's soundtrack was composed by Nicolas Schöffer himself. Seeing the artist himself elucidate his masterpieces and inspirations felt like the perfect conclusion to our journey through Schöffer's world.

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