The media artist and composer Thomas Wagensommerer studied digital media technology, philosophy and transdisciplinary art. His compositional works are positioned at the interfaces between man and machine – a field of activity which is in rapid transformation, due to permanent technological change and the fundamental deepening of the relationship between man and technology.

Of Making Hear.

[24:37 min] download for: mobile, computer and iPod | send feedback

As a media artist, Thomas Wagensommerer explores the sound faculty of electronic instruments (the existence of sounds produced by it) as well as the possibilities of sound design in the era of the Web 2.0. more »

Hollerer makes conceptual extractions from urban space – yet there is no way of a back transfer as he abstracts to signs and thinks in and with the exhibition space. An artist portrait. The exhibition with works of Clemens Hollerer at CastYourArt runs until January 8, 2011.

[7:19 min] download for: mobile | computer & iPod | send feedback

The broken symmetries to be found on construction sites are Clemens Hollerers source of inspiration - the states of transition, the destruction, chaos, mistakes and surprises, but also the clear structures, patterns and colors. more »

CastYourArt presents

Opening: Wednesday, 24 November 2010 | 6.00 - 10.00 pm
Exhibition: 25 Nov 2010 - 08 Jan 2011 | Mo-Fr 12.00 - 18.00 Uhr
Location: Gumpendorfer Straße 55, 1060 Wien/Vienna

Whenever the artist Clemens Hollerer leaves his house, his camera is always with him. He uses it as his sketchbook. By now he disposes of his own archive of photographs serving as sources for his works. Frequently he takes pictures of construction sites. Construction sites are places of transformation and photos are snapshots, freezing a moment in time when everything around stays in movement.
In his works Clemens Hollerer transfers the captured moments into new spaces and locations. In doing so he is not copying but rather reinterpreting and recreating within new surroundings. References to spaces, structures, surfaces, colors, to the simplicity of objects, as well as to construction and disassembly as expression of change distinguish his works. Predominantly, he uses wood as material because it is human, has life of its own; it is not perfect and at the same time strong and fragile. Because his works are often designed for the specific location where they are shown, in the majority of cases they are disassembled at the end of the exhibition. Assembly and disassembly are part of the construction site and part of his art. Only few works remain, often they are photos recording the works of art, in a moment of time. (wh/ca)

In the exhibition Now I See, the MUMOK in Vienna shows yet another retrospective of an internationally renowned Austrian artist. On display there is an overview of Brigitte Kowanz’ oeuvre, with a focus on recent years. This podcast was realised with the kind support of UNIQUA ArtCercles.

[7:48 min] download for: mobile | computer & iPod | send feedback

„We are in a constant process of translation“ ascertains Kowanz. “Perception is translation. Language is translation.” Kowanz concerns herself with phenomena eluding conscious perception. In this respect she was influenced by Paul Virilio, who dealt with The Aesthetics of Disappearance of “stable” images. more »

Constantin Luser challenges us to enter the maze of his imagination: he corners us against the wall of our indifference and confronts us with the unavoidable question whether we will ever be able to escape. But escape what? A portrait.

[7:49 min] 545B: mobile | computer & iPod | send feedback

In any case, it tames the wildness of our thinking, which means that when it happens –ever so rarely- the hegemony of the concept is erased and for a moment we are cured of our illness separating us from time – our rationality. more »

Warhol, Newman, Wool “Barney is now at another party.“ When exhibitions show artistic developments in a larger context, it is a good thing for every visitor. Such an exhibition can be seen at the moment at Kunsthaus Graz. Under the curatorial direction of Peter Pakesch, the exhibition “Warhol, Wool, Newman” bridges the gap between abstract American expressionism, minimal and pop art, and some of the art of our time. This podcast was realised with the kind support of UNIQUA ArtCercles.

[6:07 min] download for: mobile | Computer & iPod | send feedback

Abstract American expressionism brought a new image and understanding of space into the world of art. The viewer played a central role here, because the work was no longer possible without his/her presence. In Barnett Newman’s work, this becomes noticeably clear. It positions the viewer as the counterpart and participant in the space of the image and confronts him/her with a physical reality. more »

A grid-like strut frame, constructed out of several vertical and horizontal aluminum rods, stands in the space, and is held both together and upright by means of a chaotic network of wide black rubber bands with no visible beginning or end. The sculpture conveys a precarious stability, based on workings of gravity, traction, pressure, and friction. Bringing attention to the forces that constitute a work is a central concern of the artist, Michael Kienzer. Through the methods of interlacing, interweaving, and extensive tension, he creates links, references, connections between things and materials, and thereby reveals the fact that it is not the elements themselves, but the mutual relations between the elements—what is formed in between—that represents the character of a work.

[8:03 min] download for: mobile | Computer & iPod | send feedback

Kienzer completed his degree at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Graz and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he studied sculpture under Bruno Gironcoli. For his work—which has received numerous awards, among them the Monsignore Otto Mauer Award—he uses various media; for objects, installations, and designs, he takes different approaches to themes such as space, time, surface, compression, materiality, image, and the original. His sculptural interventions are mostly site-specific, working within the means of a given space. For example, in a lapidary fashion, two aluminum plates are set up straight across a space, supported only by themselves and the walls, drawing attention to the physical forces at work, therby shifting them, and changing the viewer’s perspective of the structures, which at first appear unalterable. more »

Most of his sound installations are not recorded. They would not function on loudspeakers or headphones, says Jan-Peter E.R. Sonntag, because his compositions typically use the entire body as an acoustic reception space. It can be good that the sound does not penetrate the through the eardrum, but instead, for example, through the soles of the feet - for those who would stand on their own loudspeakers. Sonntag’s artistic achievements involve interfaces between the human body, technical media systems, and sound-mediated space perceptions. For example, in one project, he plunges a randomly vibrating column into the earth, whose upper edge serves as ground-level manhole. Those who step on the manhole can sense the depth of the earth with their bodies through the oscillations of the manhole, as well as experience space in a different, nonvisual way.

The Architecure of Sound

[16:47 min] download for: mobile, computer and iPod | send feedback

The Essence of Electricity

[11:29 min] download for: mobile, computer and iPod | send feedback

Jan-Peter E.R. Sonntag was born in 1965. He studied trombone under Heinz Fadle at the University of Music Lübeck, then he studied eight different subjects, ranging from art history to philosophy, in Oldenburg. Since then, he has taught at universities in Istanbul, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Oldenburg, and Darmstadt. more »

Through his artwork, Carsten Nicolai overcomes the segregation of forms of sensory perception. Sound is made visible, light frequencies are heard. Sound, light, time, and space are the cornerstones of the work of the artist, who is making neither a political statement nor yet another self-reflexive discourse about art. Instead, he tries to investigate and penetrate the frontiers of perception, of which we have no conception but which do seem to have an effect on us.

| send feedback

Nicolai is experimental in his art in a scientific sense. He formulates precise conditions, clears away that which is unnecessary, defines environments in which his artworks can grow: sometimes through the influence of the public, sometimes through moments of disturbance, blurring, or chance in the system. Self-organized processes – for example, the formation of snowflakes in the air due to impurities and disturbances – fascinate him. Through the formation of self-organization and chance, Nicolai can step into the background as an artist and avoids the personification of his artwork. Such processes speak for themselves. more »

People go through life with open ears – they cannot close their ears, as they can their eyes, to the sounds of the world, unless they physically block them. The ear is a completely closed off sensory organ. We hear, even when we sleep. We hear sharply only rarely and perceive differently, those noises which surround and penetrate us. If we tune into ourselves and back in time, not only the sounds from streetcar, cow-, door-, recess, fire brigade, church, or bicycle bells resonate within us, but also an amazingly extensive audio cosmos. We come to learn that sounds have emotional connotations, that our feelings have different intonations.

A Hearing Perspective

[27:27 min] download for: mobile, computer and iPod | send feedback

Sam Auinger is engaged with the world of sounds, tones, and noises and their geographical-cultural as well as historical differences. He thereby carries on a tradition of artistic involvement with sound in which people such as Erik Satie, Luigi Russolo, John Cage, and Murray Schäfer made history. Trained at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz and University Mozarteum Salzburg, more »