Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s sound transformed for big screen by visual artist Michael Kutschbach

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra has been observed as a “living collection” in a visual spectacle by artist Michael Kutschbach.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra violinist Julia Brittain and artist Michael Kutschbach with his work titled “fuliguline” on the digital screen at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

Visual artist Michael Kutschbach has transformed the process and tradition of making orchestral music into a constantly morphing big screen spectacle.

Instead of studying museum artefacts, Kutschbach used last year to observe the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra as a living collection for the Guildhouse Collections Project.

The result is titled “fuliguline” which will be shown on the Adelaide Festival Centre’s giant outdoor screen from today until May 9, and as the East End Projection in Rundle St until June 30.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra violinist Julia Brittain and artist Michael Kutschbach with his work titled “fuliguline” on the digital screen at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“My initial observations were centred around thinking of the greater ASO organisation in terms of a living organism,” Kutschbach said.

“I tried to gain a sense of the ASO not as a rigid hierarchy of separate roles, but rather as a far more organic and dynamic body of individual and co-dependent phenomena.”

Kutschbach spent much of the past 20 years working and exhibiting in Berlin, where he also was a guest professor at its University of the Arts.

One of his sculptures from that period – titled Go, you little dynamo, go! – was featured on the 2008 Adelaide Festival poster.

ASO managing director Vincent Ciccarello said the project was an exciting new way of working for both the orchestra and craft organisation Guildhouse.

“It is a wonderful cross-art form collaboration – the ASO players and staff enjoyed working with Michael during his time of residency and his response is rich and meaningful,” he said.