Interactive Robot. A masculine figure covered with pigskin and mechanically articulated. Movement is triggered by sound stimuli.
A seated masculine figure, built to 1:1 scale with sewn pigskin and cow hide. It moves in random sequences triggered by sounds made by the spectators. The installation consists of a computer capable of detecting and analyzing sound characteristics and of sending the corresponding electrical signal to a series of motors. These motors in turn activate the joints of the figure: neck, shoulder, elbow and penis. The robot is inside a transparent cabinet of wood and glass.
Spectators have a specially active role as the sounds they produce – speaking, singing, whistling or applause - activate the movement of the sculpture. This relationship with the robot has led to many interesting scenes. We have seen how dogs bark when it moves or how certain members of the public laugh when they realise the penis moves. So in fact it is just as interesting to observe the robot as the reactions it provokes. Joan represents the technological prelude in Marcel.lÌ's work and it is a decisive manifesto in the integration of mechanics, computers and organic materials. It embodies a strange paradox in the relationship between biology and mechanics.
It was presented for the first time in December 1992 in L'H Art in the city of L'Hospitalet (Barcelona) and later in June 1993 in the public exhibition space Mercat de la Boqueria in Barcelona. The installation has been exhibited in several Spanish cities as well as in Portugal, France, Italy and Finland.