November 2015

think, “Oh, it will be up in the sky all
alone,” and make some reinforcements.
Maybe I have the understanding of the
relationship between material and
dimension or just luck. To show the
workflow, let’s have an eye on the Pyjamen
kites (see page 27). The span is nearly six
meters. Every kite has its own pattern, due
to my work as a fabric designer. Because
every kite has different cloth, and therefore
a different amount of printed surface and a
slight deviation in the proportions, it has a
different flying behavior that makes his
character. Steady winds allow them to fly
together, although they are constructed for
different winds. The performances with the
Pyjas is special.
In Austria we seldom have good constant
wind. So I thought, “I want to make some
kites especially for this sort of wind.” I
decided to modify the Thai snake. The long
tail would give more support in a changing
wind, but the movement would be still very
fidgety. I thought about which design could
support such a scene: a group of young
impatient boys standing in line (see page
28). They come into play by gusty strong
winds flying them in a chain. They are
jostling and peeking. Great fun. This is for
me proof that the right design can help
when the wind circumstances are not
perfect!
In 2012, Ramlal Tien and Anna Rubin
organized an artist in residence program
with several artists in the park of a Norman
castle. I started to think about an
installation. Concerned that huge, old trees
and shrubs would cause completely
irregular wind, I remembered the German
word windsbraut. It means on the one hand
a figure of Nordic myth. On the other hand
it means turbulence.
My eolic (”of the wind”) installations, “Die
Windsbräute,” were fixed on the vertical
branches of an old oak so they could
change the direction of the movement easily
(see page 29). The movement was smooth
with the right timing. A wonderful side
effect appeared: when there was no wind
they started to pick their noses and to
scratch their ears. They followed us to
different places and landscapes, and once
they ended up disco dancing in Croatia.
Taking part in kite festivals, I met many
artists beginning my kite career in Cervia at
the Arte Vento Festival in Italy. Claudio
Capelli and his daughter Catarina are
constantly supporting the small niche for
artists that want to take issue with eolic art. I
remember that also at other festivals artists
moved closer to get a view of special
combinations and to give the audience the
chance to get a sense for art in the sky.
The multitude of creations is amazing. I
recognized that these people were very
open-minded. They accepted other styles
with curiosity and sympathy, just happy that
there was another facet of creativity in the
sky. Of course there are some divas, trying
to set up concurrence atmosphere, like it
always is on the ground. But the number of
them is obviously small. So many nations
and generations meet and share wind
condition and environs.
Also the discrepancy between small and
fragile kites and bigger constructions is
easily solved: the small in the foreground
and the bigger higher up make a wonderful
view in the sky, and the tendency to think in
hierarchies never showed up. This process is
developing more and more, for example to
help each other to do a flying show.
Does the sky make us more open-minded or
does this happens just by chance?
Nevertheless, it is worth it to interact in this
interesting climate. ◆
26