[_Border Crossers _](https://www.facebook.com/BorderCrosser)de [Chico MacMurtrie](http://amorphicrobotworks.org/works/index.htm) es toda una declaración en forma de escultura que intenta acercar fronteras tanto físicas como simbólicas. MacMurtrie planea instalar su obra en diferentes lugares clave, incluyendo la frontera entre México y los Estados Unidos en el estado de Arizona, donde reside el artista. Las esculturas quedarán ancladas en ambos lados de la frontera, e iluminándose desde dentro se irán inflando de forma simultánea hasta saltar por encima de la frontera para crear seis arcos luminosos, como se ve en la imagen de aquí arriba.

Al igual que sus otros trabajos robóticos previos &#x2014;como el _[muro biomorfo](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/a-lifelike-biomorphic-wall-grows-in-brooklyn)  _y la _[iglesia robótica](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/a-robotic-church-rises-in-red-hook)&#x2014;_ estas seis esculturas utilizan la robótica para crear instalaciones ligeras transportables. Mientras están comprimidas, _Border Crossers_ caben perfectamente dentro de una mochila, mientras que al inflarse las creaciones de MacMurtrie pueden llegar a formar un arco sobre un muro o valla y están equipadas con sensores y tecnología de vigilancia para poder llegar a crear la instalación como un &#x201c;evento mediatizado&#x201d;. Tal y como explica la nota de prensa, &#x201c;_Border Crossers_ invita al público a replantearse la noción de las fronteras en un mundo globalizado \[&#x2026;\] Este proyecto contempla la tecnología como una herramienta positiva capaz de establecer diálogos más allá de las fronteras y de crear un símbolo de la suspensión y trascendencia de las fronteras&#x201d;.

Las esculturas robóticas de MacMurtrie [se estrenaron el mes pasado](http://www.zero1.org/events/exhibition/border-crosser-chico-macmurtrieamorphic-robot-works) en San José, California, en colaboración con la organización artística [ZERO1](http://www.zero1.org/), con el propósito de utilizar el arte como una plataforma para los temas sociales.  Aquí abajo puedes ver algunas imágenes y un vídeo del debut de _Border Crossers_.

Borders can appear hard and fixed on maps, in language, and in space. But these borders are constructed and ultimately malleable. Border Crossers comprise a series of lightweight robotic  sculptures  that  poetically  explore  and  question  the  notion  of  borders  and boundary conditions. The inflatable sculptures, working in tandem, rise up to several stories high and extend across a given threshold. Their choreographed performance, originating on both sides of the border, would stage a symbolic connection. 

Each physical deployment would also take the form of a mediatized event, recorded and broadcast over the web using satellite and video feeds.  
Border Crossers provoke investigation of borders as constructed entities. At one level its actions embody a simple curiosity to see what lies on the other side of a border (national, architectural, environmental, etc.). On another level the work expresses a utopian desire to live in a world without borders. The project treats the border as a physical condition that can be temporarily transcended by technological proxies. It offers a critique of militarized geopolitical borders, and a metaphorical suspension of those borders in the form  of  temporary  arches  or  partial  arches  equipped  with  sensing  and  surveillance technology.  

The specific choreography of the inflatable machines would vary from one situation to the next. In one imagined scenario along the U.S.---Mexico border fence, up to six inflatable units would be installed on opposite sides of the border (either public or private property in towns or the desert). At dusk, the reflective white, ethereal forms are activated by compressed air, and begin to grow gradually, gracefully upwards into towers, standing out against their surroundings. The robots use their “muscles” to move and undulate into a variety of forms as they rise. Once they reach above the barrier fence, they begin to arch toward the other side of the border. Those machines anchored on the Mexican side cross over and touch down on the U.S side. Reciprocally, the U.S.---based  machines touch down on Mexican soil at the same moment. Together the machines, illuminated from inside or outside,  form  six  unifying  archways,  simultaneously  inhabiting  and  puncturing  the artificial border imposed upon the citizens of these countries.  

Border Crossers invites the public to rethink the notion of borders in a globalized world. Technology currently helps to overcome cultural and economic borders, but is also frequently used to maintain and reinforce physical borders. This project envisions technology as a positive tool to establish dialogues beyond borders, to question borders, and to create a symbolic suspension and transcendence of borders.

The Border Crossers remind us that we are connected, that borders can be temporary (as temporary  as  the  “crossing”  performance).  Their  actions  allude  to  the  equality  of humanity against a backdrop of tensions and conflicts over national and cultural identity. Technology comes to the fore in this questioning of the boundaries placed upon trans--- border cultures and ecologies.

The first Border Crosser was presented by ZERO1 in San Jose, CA in February 2016 and was supported, in part, by a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José, Arizona State University Art Museum and Herberger Institute School of Art, the Montalvo Arts Center, and Dyneema®.

Border Crosser (Prototype)

Encontrarás más información sobre _Border Crossers_ en la [página de Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BorderCrosser) del proyecto, y para más información sobre la obra de Chico MacMurtrie, visita su [página web](http://amorphicrobotworks.org/).

_[Los instrumentos de esta sintonía robótica son luces estroboscópicas](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/es/blog/los-instrumentos-de-esta-esta-sinfonia-robotica-son-luces-estroboscopicas)_

_[¿Crees que podrías simpatizar con un robot?](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/es/blog/crees-que-podrias-empatizar-con-un-robot)_

_[La realidad virtual te transporta a un jardín de esculturas en el desierto ](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/es/blog/la-realidad-virtual-te-transporta-a-un-jardin-de-esculturas-en-el-desierto)_

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La nueva instalación de Chico MacMurtrie "invita al público a replantearse la noción de las fronteras en un mundo globalizado". 

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Estas esculturas robot se saltan la frontera entre México y EE. UU.

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Estas esculturas robot se saltan la frontera entre México y EE. UU.

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