40 Years Ars Electronica

Since its inception in 1979, Ars Electronica has remained true to its core value of connecting the realms of art, technology, science and society. Today, 40 years later, Ars Electronica is one of the leading institutions in the field of media art, not only deeply rooted in the public sphere and cultural landscape of Linz, but also an important link to the international community. With a variety of formats and initiatives, Ars Electronica traces current processes and developments in art, technology and society and makes them accessible to the general public. Presence in public space is therefore one of its most important aspects: interdisciplinary projects regularly invite regional and international visitors to engage with current issues, visions and possibilities.

At the festival, 40 Years Ars Electronica is celebrated in two formats, each presenting a selection of outstanding projects in the history of Ars Electronica. ARS and the CITY displays exceptional works in the public space at the LENTOS museum while ARS on the WIRE shows initiatives in the public digital space at the POSTCITY.

The World in 24 Hours

Robert Adrian X (CA/AT)

In 1982 this telecommunications program attempted to combine SSTV, computer communication and telefacsimile in a global multimedia telecommunication project. The conceptual intention of The World in 24 Hours focused on demonstrating the global nature of electronic networks—as well as the fact that most of the globe was missing from the network (all of Africa and South America and most of Eastern Europe and Asia), and to challenge the hegemony of the one-to-many broadcast media by using the telephone system for one-to-one multimedia interaction. Another aspect was the attempt to make a statement about a new role for the artist in the age of electronic media as a creator of the space for art rather than as a mere a producer of objects. During the project artists around the world connected in a non-stop series of dialogues beginning at 12 noon on September 27 and ending at 12 noon on September 28, 1982 (Central European Time).

ARS and the CITY

A retrospective of the activity and impact of Ars Electronica in, with and for Linz: Ars Electronica’s art, media and participation projects in public space – from 1979 to the present day.

ARS on the WIRE

Long before the Internet began to attract widespread attention in the form of the WWW and before a young generation of artists began to critically examine the structures, peculiarities, and future possibilities of this new medium under the term “Net Art,” telecommunications art projects began to take place (from the late 1970s onwards) dealing with global networking. From the outset, Ars Electronica was a venue for this pioneering artistic work.

It started with Cassette Culture!

Wolfgang Dorninger (AT)

At this year’s Ars Electronica Festival, Wolfgang Dorninger will setup a sound installation based on tape loops, self-soldered autogenerative music machines, synthetic bird sounds and algorithmic sound creations which will be amplified with tactile speakers, horns and subwoofers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ars Electronica.

Chicago New Media 1973–1992

VGA Gallery (US)

Chicago New Media 1973–1992 chronicles the under-recognized story of Chicago’s contributions to new media art by artists at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Electronic Visualization Laboratory, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and at Midway Games and Bally from 1973 to 1992.

Interplay; Exploring Telecommunications, Art, and Collaboration, 1978-1983

Bill Bartlett (CA), Doug Jarvis (CA)

Artist Bill Bartlett and Open Space Guest Curator, Doug Jarvis present archival materials that detail and support the international telecommunications projects that Bartlett developed between 1978 and 1983, and which contributed to the context in which Robert Adrian X’s ˟The World in 24 Hours˟ takes place.

Japanese Media Art Timeline Infographics Project

Atsuhito Sekiguchi(JP), Hiroko Myokan(JP), Minoru Noma (JP), Keiko Kobayashi (JP), Ryoji Tanaka (JP)

We are trying to build a history of Japanese media art from the event, with the artistic support of company Mesena (mécénat) and through the student-teacher relationships at the educational research institute. It will consist of an infographic that clearly displays the relationship between the winning projects at PRIX ARS Electronica and those at the Japan Media Art Festival.

Klangmikado

Waltraut Cooper (AT)

Klangmikado, which was created for Ars Electronica in 1987, allows visitors to play with oversized mikado sticks and create individual sound worlds. The composition is by Gerhard E. Winkler.

Long Night Talks. For Robert Adrian

Roberto Paci Dalò (IT)

Long Night Talks. For Robert Adrian is an 8-channel sound work dedicated to Robert Adrian X (1935-2015), a pioneer in art and telecommunications. For more than two decades, Adrian and Paci Dalò shared a close friendship, punctuated by long night talks on everything. In this piece, Roberto Paci Dalò worked with Adrian’s voice, using it as his installation’s main material.

Origin

Refik Anadol (TR/US)

Origin is an immersive installation that narrates the incredible cultural and scientific legacy of Ars Electronica. Using archival information from the past 40 years, this piece aims to tell the story not only the story of the institutions’ foresight and innovation but also use this history to visualize future trends and realities.