Florian Claar

Many of my works tend to fall into two distinct, almost entirely opposing ways of looking at the world. Despite their differences, both are explorations in the workings of the human mind, which makes up our entire being and of which, even after a lifetime of experiences, we still know so very little about. One way is focused on unchangeable logic, through numbers, geometry, modular structures and fractals; the other embraces the uncontrolled, unedited and vastly rich aspect of irrationality in the free flow of thoughts and dreams. I believe the key to understand the human experience is settled in the space between these extremes. Music has always been for me a perfect example of the unusual condition, in which these contrasting extremes meet. It is a purely mathematical, modular, rational number-based, physical medium, which is capable to invoke the most illogical emotions and irrational mental connections, as well as a shared experience of unedited, free flowing stories, within the collective listener's mind.

Numbers & Nature - Numeral systems can be found everywhere in nature. Plato  famously had the words 'Let no one ignorant of geometry enter here' engraved at the door of his academy in Athens. Looking for modular geometric structures and harmonics in nature has always greatly fascinated me and influences of this can be seen throughout my work. I focus especially on structures, which contain unusual and  surprising aspects, on which the human mind reacts in unexpected ways. Some of these are turned into large, architectural scale installations, which challenge the sensory perception of visitors through unusual acoustical or spacial phenomena. Other works contain these ideas not in a physical, sensory way, but rather as mental projections. Like tuning a string instrument, it becomes a matter of selecting, adjusting and fine-tuning these harmonic systems, until the mind starts to react in surprising unexpected ways.

Stories & Dreams - I have always been interested in the unedited flow of non-linear storylines, the vast riches of neurological world-building, as well as many other aspects of the creative potential of dreams. As an artist I seem to have a natural preposition not to put too much emphasis on the difference between the dreaming and waking world. When an artist talks about dreams, one might immediately assume this refers to very personal emotional journeys of self-discovery. Much evidence in sleep research suggests, that this is not at all the case. On a neurological, biological level, dreams are essential to form ideas, internal world- building to develop an understanding of the outside world, with real live consequences. Stories and ideas transform the world. As described in Matthew Walker's book 'Why we Sleep': ... When we enter a dream state, an inspired form of memory mixology begins to occur, within the already illogical tapestry of meaning in the dreaming minds theater. No longer are we constraint to see the most typical and plainly obvious connections. On the contrary, the brain becomes actively bias towards seeking out the most distant, non-obvious links between sets of information.... .In this sense, dreams are not just temporary random personal reflections, but an essential neurological tool to help the mind to develop universal, collective thoughts and form the basis necessary for complex social interactions. It is an essential, but largely hidden skill, which can be put to active use.

Creating objects, installations and videos I am looking for ways to excavate the hidden tapestry of a public collective mind with special focus on the human biological need of expressing and experiencing stories. It is an enjoyable journey, as it leads to countless paths and discoveries.