Flood

Ruth Schnell & Martin Kusch (kondition pluriel)

Arkestra of Light – vague

OchoReSotto

The Austrian trio OchoReSotto develops with “Arkestra of Light. Vague” a new projection mapping for one of the most important historical ensembles of Feldkirch’s historic city center, the Alte Dogana and the Schattenburg. The image inventions oscillate narratively between abstraction and figuration and, in surreal images, break down the perception that has just been established back into set pieces. The result is a visually intense collage of analog and digital images, of found footage and scenes from the green screen, which are adapted to the structure of the façade of the Alte Dogana. The question of the construction and objective standard of evaluation of reality is repeatedly undermined in distortion, transformation, and editing techniques, dissolved, and posed anew in the next image.

A.D.D.I.T.I.V.E.

OchoReSotto

Vertical Skip

Thilo Frank

Eclipse

Tony Oursler

Specular

Tony Oursler

Ferococco Nr. 12

François Morellet

Lamentable

François Morellet

HTL Rankweil

Lichterpfad 2023

Lichterpfad 2023

Lichterpfad 2023

Eclipse

Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler, American pioneer of media art, is one of the most accomplished and well-known artists of his generation when it comes to questions of fiction and reality, collective search for meaning and individual confusion. With the works “Eclipse” and “Specular”, he presents two works that deal with the peculiarities of the media age.

“Eclipse” consists of individual video projections which, when projected oversized onto trees in the dark, become an impressive installation. The various characters in the films seem to be moved inside, frightened, overwhelmed, petrified, doubting society and themselves. Alone or in combination with others, they swing speeches, speak paranoidly in walkie talkies, are stroboscopically accelerated in their movements, lash out with an axe, fall into a singing unison – separated and united.

The tree not only serves as a “canvas”, but Oursler fundamentally incorporates it into the conception of the work. Mystical superpowers are given to the trees by the increasingly explored communicative ability of plants with their environment. The tree’s organism is habitat, cooling, carbon binder and air filter. At the same time, it is identification-forming for the history of mankind, a symbol of life with an annual cycle, a connection between earth and sky, something divinely exalted and deeply rooted. Through its foliage, the sun shines as a crescent on the ground during an eclipse: The sun projects itself innumerably in its total or partial obscuration through the filtering of the tree canopy. Something that cannot be seen with the naked eye is made visible by the tree.

Tony Oursler (b. 1957) is considered a pioneer of American media art and is internationally regarded as one of the most accomplished artists of his generation. His works deal with questions of fiction and reality, collective search for meaning and individual confusion in the context of society as a whole.

Flood

Ruth Schnell & Martin Kusch (kondition pluriel)

A collage of impressive dimensions is being created on the façade of Montforthaus in Feldkirch. The work revolves around a comparison of illusion and reality, which draws a catastrophic balance of the present in poetic images.

“Flood” was performed for the first time in 2022 as part of “Spotlight“, the second format of the biennial light art festival “Lichtstadt Feldkirch”. The impressive projection mapping took place on the façade of Alte Dogana in Feldkirch.

The façade of the Montforthaus will be part of the dynamic projection mapping “Flood”, which was first presented in 2022 as part of “Spotlight” and can now be experienced in an adapted form at “Lichtstadt Feldkirch” 2023. The visual basis of the mapping is the text of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” adopted in 1948. This Charter of Human Rights of the United Nations comprises 30 articles; further agreements and protocols have been added since 1948 and form the “International Bill of Rights”.

Writing, image and sound intertwine in an impressive way in the artistic work. The focus is on the articles on freedom, equality, freedom of expression, social security, the right to education and the right to asylum, as well as on climate change and the associated issues and consequences, such as migration. The effects of climate change and environmental degradation are felt more than ever and on a daily basis. They are pushing people worldwide, especially from the Global South, into increasingly precarious living conditions. The ecological challenges of the present are complex. They have social and thus human rights components – for example, the right to access to clean water was recognised as a human right by the UN General Assembly in 2010.

In “Flood”, moving images of landscapes and water, but also of the consequences of the overexploitation of the earth and its climate, emerge from the letters and words that address both the valid version of human rights and their most virulent extensions with regard to climate change. Striking concepts that make the current state of the world comprehensible are in turn modelled from this visual fund as well as from light and shadow. The sound of “Flood” has a spatially expanding effect. The sound is a specially produced collage of texts on the theme combined with atmospheric sounds from nature and technology.

The mapping is produced with the help of a self-written programme for generative graphics, in which 3D and text animations, nature shots and recordings on the themes of migration, landscape, water etc. are combined to create a visual experience.

Born in Feldkirch, media artist Ruth Schnell (*1956) lives and works in Vienna. She has taught at the University of Applied Arts Vienna since 1987 and has headed the Digital Art class for 12 years. Her artistic work includes media environments, interactive mixed media works, robotics, art in public space, video sculptures, light objects, photography and video.

Martin Kusch (*1964) directs the digital performance group kondition pluriel, Montreal, and the Fulldome VR/AR Lab at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, where he is an associate professor. His practice focuses on media, virtual, interactive and performative installations and immersive environments.

Concept, idea, realisation: Ruth Schnell and Martin Kusch (kondition pluriel)
Programming: Johannes Hucek
3D Modelling / Animation: Malte Niedringhaus
Image research: Thomas Hochwallner
Sound production: Alexandre St-Onge

Specular

Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler, American pioneer of media art, is one of the most accomplished and well-known artists of his generation when it comes to questions of fiction and reality, collective search for meaning and individual confusion. With the works “Eclipse” and “Specular”, he presents two works that deal with the peculiarities of the media age.

“Specular” narrows this theme down to one image: the human eye in close-up while looking at a screen. The information being consumed is reflected on the shiny surface of the eyes. These video sequences from the “Obscura” series, which has been running since 1996, are shown on three spheres of different dimensions, which were created in 2021 for an exhibition at Kunstraum Dornbirn.

Oursler explores the creative and destructive energy of conspiracy theories such as moon landing denial, the Illuminati, 5G/COVID-19 causality, chemtrails and the pseudoscience of iridology (iris diagnostics) and psychedelics. These elements are incorporated into the viewer’s eyes through literal reflection in the macro shots and various special effects. Oursler shows a paradoxical position of the recipients, who seem to be more interested in models of the world than in the world itself.

Tony Oursler (b. 1957) is considered a pioneer of American media art and is internationally regarded as one of the most accomplished artists of his generation. His works deal with questions of fiction and reality, collective search for meaning and individual confusion in the context of society as a whole.

Vertical Skip

Thilo Frank

What can be created from a single line is shown inside the Johanniterkirche. With his installation “Vertical Skip”, the artist Thilo Frank combines three essential things: object, space and human being.

“Vertical Skip” is a ten-metre high dynamic sculpture presented in the interior of the Johanniterkirche. The elements are simple, the result all the more impressive. A light rope, an electric motor, sensors, a transformer and a speed controller work together. The artist lets a luminous LED rope hang from the ceiling. When someone enters the room, the rope begins to rotate. The more people gather, the stronger the rotations gets. Organic structures and constantly renewing forms in space develop from this interaction. The interplay of light and movement leads to an examination of one’s own perception. Only the observing people complete the installation. As so often in Frank’s artistic work, the interactive physical dialogue between the work and the viewer is at the centre.

Thilo Frank’s work will be on display at Johanniterkirche Feldkirch until November 11, 2023.

Thilo Frank (*1978) lives and works near Munich and Berlin. With his works, the artist invites viewers to an interactive dialogue. In his installations, sculptures and photo series, he puts everyday physical phenomena into a new context and plays with our perception of light, space and movement.

A.D.D.I.T.I.V.E.

OchoReSotto

The trio OchoReSotto is represented twice at this year’s festival. The installation “A.D.D.I.T.I.V.E.” in Feldkirch’s Marktgasse impressively complements their new projection mapping “Arkestra of Light – vague” in Feldkirch’s old town.

The special interplay of OchoReSotto’s abstract visual content with Josef Gründerl’s spatially filling, wandering sound creates a place of holistic physical experience. Like a kaleidoscope, the artists design geometric patterns that are projected onto plexiglass panels. The sheets let light through and reflect it at the same time, throwing the colourful patterns onto the façades and thus expanding the space. How we perceive this constantly changing space always depends on our point of view, both physical and psychological.

In connection to the projection mapping “Arkestra of Light – vague”, “A.D.D.I.T.I.V.E.” also poses the question of the vague or additive habit of seeing: How do we perceive our world and what is the difference between fiction and reality?

Ferococco Nr. 12

François Morellet

In his “Ferococco” series, François Morellet (1926-2016) plays with the individual elements of a circle and puts them together again and again. The circle is seen as a geometric figure that also contains many levels of meaning: it is the symbol of infinity, it appears calm, harmonious and self-contained.

In cooperation with the Zumtobel Group, Palais Liechtenstein and “Lichtstadt Feldkirch”, the work “Ferococco No. 12” (2002) is part of the exhibition “Aesthetics of Existence… Life, a Work of Art” at Palais Liechtenstein. The neon object consists of a grid of six elements that, when put together, form a circle. Ultimately, they are fragments that make up a large whole – a new composition is created from a familiar form. He does not hide the cables that electrify his neon works – on the contrary: he integrates them as form-forming elements.

“Lamentable” (2005), one of the French artist’s other works, is exhibited in Feldkirch’s Dom St. Nikolaus.

HTL Rankweil

Festival 2023

“Alternative Engerien machen Schule”

How much electricity can you produce with a bicycle? Try it and discover the projects of the students of the HTL Rankweil on the 1st floor of the Palais Liechtenstein.

Lichterpfad 2023

Festival 2023

For the third edition of the light art festival “Lichtstadt Feldkirch”, a “path of lights” will be shown in the old town of Feldkirch.

In cooperation with schools and educational institutions from Feldkirch, light objects made of upcycled materials were created in the second half of the school year 2022/23.

The students independently thought about the implementation: Which materials are weatherproof, which illuminant is suitable, what can the hanging device look like? In addition to practical work, the lessons also covered topics related to light art, upcycling, nature and the environment.

Participants were students of the 5b and 7b of the Gymnasium Schillerstraße Feldkirch, as well as the Gymnasium Rebberggasse Feldkirch.

Lamentable

François Morellet

The work “Lamentable” (2005) by the artist François Morellet (1926-2016) represents a deconstruction of a circle. The hanging object consists of red neon tubes, each 2.50 metres long, which appear as individual lines in the room. Put together, the eight elements form a circle that would have a diameter of 6.50 metres.

François Morellet plays with geometric forms in his artistic work. In “Lamentable”, a grid is created that offers the viewer the possibility of adopting different perspectives. The three-dimensional object seems to reshape itself again and again depending on the viewer’s point of view. In addition to shapes, colours and their effects play an important role in this type of concrete art. The expansive object will be presented in Feldkirch’s Dom St. Nikolaus.

In cooperation with the Zumtobel Group, Palais Liechtenstein and “Lichtstadt Feldkirch”,  “Ferococco No. 12″ by François Morellet, can be seen as part of the exhibition “Aesthetics of Existence… Life, a Work of Art” at Palais Liechtenstein.