Instant futureThe ignition to change
In 1984 Van Halen released their album simply named 1984. The first track - also named 1984 - worked as a portal into the future. Going from a classic rock sound into the sound of synthesizers this was a huge risk for the band. The lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen had tried to convince the rest of the band members that it was a great idea and after years of pursuance they agreed. He was right. The future of ecstatic, energetic and fantastic rock music was born. The album became their best selling album, and the song Jump have had a huge influence, not only on rock music but also on the role of the synth as a lead instrument in all genres. Eddie was and still is famous for being one of the greatest guitarists of our time. But he was not limited by his reputation or his six-stringed instrument.
Eddie’s weapon of choice: The Oberheim OB-Xa.
Looking at what exists and not in aspect of time is interesting. One way to look at it is that the future is not here so it does not yet exist. The past is neither here and does not exist. What exists is now. The razor sharp moment that divides future from past. Other ways of looking at it is that the past and the present is real but not the future, or that the past, present and future are being equally real. The future and the past is a place in the fourth dimension from a universal non-objective view.
We can never arrive in the future because it will always be just that - the future. We can talk about future scenarios and steer against it or away from it but never into it because it is constantly changing. It is an endless generating source of inspiration. And we can use it to create portals. Portals in music, portals in art, portals in design. The Bauhaus movement set the course for the future of design through rules of form and function. The Memphis group took another step into the future by rejecting these very rules of conformity and functionality. Picasso invented modernism by ignoring the fixed perspectives of the world. Duchamp expanded it further by ignoring the praxis of art completely. The future was already there in their minds. They created a wormhole and jumped into it - just like Eddie Van Halen.
Marcel’s weapon of choice: a comb.
Future - in thought - truly exists. The future is not a stage in time, it is a state of mind. Progress is made by many over time, but every step on the way is made by the individual mind.
The intro track of 1984 still works as a portal. A portal into the alternative timeline of Eddie’s instant future.
Selected work︎