Firat Erdim
Des Moines, United States
Whether with cast shadows, clouds of ink, or the tow line of a kite, Fırat Erdim’s practice explores the interrelationship of lines, materiality, and place to question axioms of architectural imagination. Projects such as the Kite Choir and the Field Harp facilitate aesthetic practices of attunement with the atmosphere. The custom instruments developed in these works are played in collaboration with the wind, making the ebbs and flows of the atmosphere palpable as a dynamic, sonic thickness. Their polyphonic, social dimension asks whether we can act together in relation to our existential medium. This work has been performed or exhibited at Versus Art Project (İstanbul), the Des Moines Art Center, WORKS+WORDS Biennale (Copenhagen), Adds Donna (Chicago), the 2022 Toneburst Electroextravaganza (Wesleyan University), and the Italian Virtual Pavilion of the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, among others. Erdim received the 2015 Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome and a 2016 Santo Foundation Award for Individual Artists. Originally from Turkey, he is currently associate professor at Iowa State University.
Previous work
Project Overview
2025 Biennial Project
Project Overview
Field Harp
Field Harp is an installation of wind-activated instruments. When activated, they are distributed across a group of harpists who allow the each string to vibrate in response to the air around them. Unlike traditional Aeolian harps, which passively respond to wind, the Field Harp is held, moved, and oriented by performers, whose bodies influence the vibrations. Together, the harpists form a single, collective instrument, revealing the dynamic flow of air as a shared, tangible experience. The collective ensemble invites reflection on how we might sense, respond to, and move together within the shared medium of air.
This project has received funding from the Daniel J. Huberty Faculty Fellowship in Architecture and the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities at Iowa State University, and from the Des Moines Art Center.
Venue
View moreChicago Cultural Center
Address
78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602
Neighborhood
The Loop
Description
Completed in 1897 as Chicago’s first central library, the building was established as the Chicago Cultural Center, the nation’s first and most comprehensive free municipal cultural venue, in 1991. One of the most visited attractions in Chicago, the stunning landmark building is home to two magnificent stained-glass domes, as well as free art exhibitions, performances, tours, lectures, family activities, music, and more – presented by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and many others.
