Silke Grabinger’s SPOTSHOTBEUYS reinterprets Beuys’ action in a multifaceted and ironic manner. In this performance, she confronts the robotic dog “Spot”, a symbol of contemporary technological innovation. Silke Grabinger relocates the discourse on hierarchy, coexistence, and mutual taming to the present day, dramatizing the tense, intricate relationship between humanity and cutting-edge technology. Through this encounter, she unveils deep-seated desires and needs, reflecting the same patterns found in human relationships, projected onto an artificial counterpart. Ultimately, the utopian vision of profound connection shatters against reality—most strikingly when Silke Grabinger symbolically disconnects “Spot” by removing its battery, exposing the inescapable reliance of technology on human agency.
SPOTSHOTBEUYS / Silke Grabinger - Photo: Silke Grabinger & Karol Kensy
Event
SPOTSHOTBEUYS
Silke Grabinger (AT)
Language //
EN
Ticket //
ONE DAY PASS, FESTIVALPASS, FESTIVALPASS+, Ars Electronica Center Ticket
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Silke Grabinger
Silke Grabinger is an Austrian artist and choreographer. Her artworks and concepts combine contemporary dance with performative art and robotics. Her particular focus is critical examination of social phenomena, artistic paradigms and the function and position of the audience. She is the founder and artistic director of SILK Fluegge and SILK Cie. In 2021 she opened KLISCOPE, a former chapel in Linz, as a creative space for new experiments and visions.
Credits
SPOTSHOTBEUYS, 2024, Video Artwork of the performance on April 22nd in Venice Copyright: Silke Grabinger A collaboration between Silke Grabinger, the Circus of Knowledge and the Department of Robotics at the Johannes Kepler University, with permission from Fondazione Bonotto, excerpts from the video documentation of Joseph Beuys: I Like America and America Likes Me (1974) used on 20.04.2024 at 5 PM at The Venice Venice, Cannaregio 5631, 30121 Venice. Courtesy of the Artist, © Bildrecht, Vienna 2025 Photo and video: Silke Grabinger & Karol Kensy
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