Historic church offers unique attraction: Robot orchestra

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A historic church in Brooklyn is now a stage for robots.

Amorphic Robot Works, the brainchild of artist Chico MacMutrie, has been hosting robot concerts for the past two years inside the former Red Hook Church.

The robots were all created about 15 years ago by MacMutrie himself.

The performances feature dozens of robots, moving and "singing" on demand, similar to an orchestra.

“The performance is very much about the audience being immersed into a complete experience within the church. So you actually go as if you are attending church and the machines perform within the area that the audience is in surround sound completely in a performative experience,” MacMutrie explained.

MacMutrie has trained robots to tumble, climb, and move up-and-down.

"All the machines move and all the machines are computer controlled," MacMutrie explained, “They perform a range of behaviors we taught them over the years that are specific for the robotic church."

He calls them the “evolution of human condition”, each offering a unique attraction, such as a robot climbing a rope or attempting a summersault.

Together, they morph into an interactive, rare concert. The robots even perform all around the world.

More information on schedules and performances is available at www.AmorphicRobotWorks.org.