Kraftwerk

Kraftwerk founders and electro pioneers Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider have been creating futuristic electro music since 1970 at their Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf, using synthetic sounds and voices, minimalist speech singing and lyrics with monotonous industrial rhythms. With the robot as their artistic alter ego, and the 3-D visuals of their performances, they have explored the relationship between man and machine in multidisciplinary projects. Where the early avant-garde wanted to create a new art for a rapidly changing new society, Kraftwerk produced a soundtrack for the 21st century and our digitalised contemporary world. The 3-D installation of 2013 refers to the Kraftwerk albums The Catalogue 12345678. To see the installation, you need 3D glasses. These are available on loan.

Jo Widoff, curator, comments on Kraftwerk’s impact on the exhibition:
“For more than four decades now, Kraftwerk have explored the relationship between man and machine. In the museum galleries, Kraftwerk’s 3-D installation will initiate an electronic and conceptual dialogue with early modernism, something I am certainly looking forward to.”

Commenting on the relationship between man and machine, Kraftwerk’s Ralf Hütter has said:
“It feels good to be part of the machine. It is a liberating feeling. For one thing because I, as an individual, take a back seat. We play the machines, and the machines play us.”