topic

Artistic Research

What does it mean to conduct artistic research today?

TOPIC CONTENT:

In the Presence of Artistic Research

Light up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture

Lighthouse

Playing with Ludwig

Choreo-graphic Figures

Threads of Life

Exhibition View: Conceptual Joining – Wood Structures from Detail to Utopia

Conceptual Joining: Backstage Report

Exhibition View: Labor der Plötzlichkeit. Elektrische Funken und Entladungen

Exhibition View: Silence Matters

AIL presents projects from the field of artistic research on a regular basis, covering all states of research and a variety of formats. As a complementary understanding of research alongside traditionally academic ones, Artistic Research can expand epistemological questions, especially with regard to intersectional problems.

Find here upcoming dates and selected projects from the past.

research presentation

Opening: 22 May 2023, 19:00

Running: 23 May 2023 – 26 May 2023

In the Presence of Artistic Research

Public Colloquium and Exhibition with the Artists of the Artistic Research PhD Program (PhD in Art) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna

A project by the Zentrum Fokus Forschung

Opening Hours Exhibition:
Opening Mon: 19:00
Tue, Wed: 9:00–18:00
Thu: 9:00–20:00
Fri: 13:00–15:00

Public Colloquium:
Tue–Thu: 9:00–16:30

‘Perhaps, even today, we do not deal with art. We might have overlooked the moment when it transformed itself into something else, something which we cannot yet name. It is certain, however, that what we deal with offers greater possibilities.’ — Jerzy Ludwinski

Image by © Photo: Anderwald + Grond (2018)

What does it mean to conduct artistic research today?

This exposition of artistic-research work is an invitation to reflect on the present through the prism of current artistic research. Situated in-between provocation and reflection, the exhibition and the series of public lecture-performances and lectures give insight into the diversity of topics, methods, perspectives, and discursive and display strategies afforded by artistic research. Artist-researchers make speculative propositions about the kinds of knowledge, action, and impact art might yield. The PhD in Art program understands modes of artistic-scientific working as an empowerment of the artists, a critical possibility to reach beyond perceived boundaries, to a mode and attitude of working which fuses and confounds, cross-pollinating the ecologies of the artistic and curatorial with scientific, practice-based and societal impact. Creativity and imagination are essential capacities shaping the present and enabling future-making. This reinvigoration of research-impacted artistic practices has situated artists as agents in social, scientific, and political spheres. The diverse practices of artist-researchers may address pressing artistic, social, political, and ecological issues. Employing creative methods that draw from artistic traditions as well as from research practices, artistic research reaches beyond the limitations of representing or elaborating the world, proposing different outlooks on the present and future. 

What are the limitations and hazards of such intermingling, and what becomes generative and fecund in these contact zones? To discuss these questions together with the artist-researchers, this four-day event extends an invitation to be present and join the PhD in Art program in discussing the exhibition and presentations of the current state of the PhD in Art projects.

Reflecting on the candidates’ artistic work together with the audience, on the practices, modes and methods of research and critical analysis, four renowned international guest critics are present:

Sebastian Chichocki, chief curator and head of the research department at MOMA Warsaw and The Consortium for Postartistic Practices

Davide Deriu, architectural theorist and historian at the University of Westminster London

Yael Eylat van Essen, curator and researcher at Holon Institute of Technology

Astrid S. Klein, artist-researcher and lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf and Quartier Flottant, will contribute from their perspective and give insight into their own work in the field.


Participants:

Tamara Antonijević, Niels Bonde, Nisrine Boukhari, Erik Bünger, Margit Busch, Andrew Champlin, Cristiana de Marchi, George Demir, Rah Eleh, Jošt Franko, Oscar Gardea, Joseph Leung, Judit Navratil, Ana Rajčević, Marthin Rozo, Juli Sikorska, Conny Zenk

Program Overview:

Opening: 22 May, 19:00
Exhibition: 23 May–26 May
Public Colloquium: 23 May–25 May

Further Events and Program at ZFF: 23 May–26 May

Zentrum Fokus Forschung | Image by © Zentrum Fokus Forschung at Rustenschacher Allee Vienna. Photo: Katarina Šoškić (2019)

The function of the Zentrum Fokus Forschung is to develop projects in the post-graduate research areas of art and science (research projects, incl. projects evolving from the Artistic Research PhD Programme) and to support significant developments in art and science in general.

The Zentrum Fokus Forschung is a unit – complementing existing departments – at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in which independent artistic research is generated and connected; artistic work is thereby regarded as the basis of knowledge production, of course in a productive relationship with existing ways of knowledge development, which have been established in other fields of research.

The aim is to generate fresh knowledge regarding specific issues in the arts by providing an adequate institutional focus, to contextualize artistic research and to adequately communicate results in both national and international artistic environments.

Zentrum Fokus Forschung is located at Rustenschacher Allee in Vienna and its core task is to coordinate and develop research activities. As a matter of principle, research in the sense of comprehensive knowledge production is open to any outcome, everything is possible.

book presentation

30 May 2023, 18:00

Light up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture

Gerald Bast, Friedrich Biedermann, Andrea Graser Moderation: Julia Grillmayr

Exploring the potential of dynamic artificial lighting technologies in museum architecture opens new perspectives and approaches to the use of light in exhibition spaces. Once one sees light as a material in the museum, then one can begin to assess its potential in the exhibition space.

Dynamic artificial lighting offers artists, architects, curators and museum experts nearly unlimited possibilities for illuminating an exhibition space.

But how should the various nuances of artificial light interact with the artwork and the exhibition space? What potential does dynamic artificial lighting provide as an interactive material in galleries and art museums? What is the relationship between light and the artwork, exhibition space and audience?

Image by © Measurement of the lighting conditions in actual exhibition spaces with a portable spectrometer Artwork in background: Friedrich Biedermann, I Have Seen Reality, 2020. Credits: Andrea Graser

In galleries and art museums, our perception of art, space and atmosphere is essentially determined by lighting. Today, pioneering LED technologies allow us to create customized lighting scenarios. Artificial light is becoming an interactive material in museum architecture, not only in terms of conceptual design but as real-time spatial experiences. Exploring the potential of dynamic artificial lighting technologies in museum architecture opens new perspectives and approaches to the use of light in exhibition spaces. Once one sees light as a material in the museum, then one can begin to assess its potential in the exhibition space.

Image by © Experiment, 18 February 2020, three colored spots with overlapping beams, Andrea Graser. Credits: Andrea Graser

The book Light Up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture begins by asking why lighting is simply taken for granted, regarded merely as a light source rather than as a creator of mood affecting our perception of an artwork, allowing us to view and interpret it in new ways. The interrelationship between the arts, as well as two different perspectives regarding the use of light as a material in the exhibition space, forms the foundation for the book.

As an architect, the author Andrea Graser examines the subject through an analytical approach to exhibition space and museum architecture. Her perspective has been broadened by the insights of Friedrich Biedermann, an artist who uses light as a medium in his works. Both studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and over the course of their long careers as architect and artist they have pursued this theme. Together, they developed a theory of the object-oriented ontology of light, which regards light as spiritual matter uniting the architectural space, the artwork, and the viewer.

Image by © Friedrich Biedermann, Light Path, 2016, photo (detail) of light installation, Frankfurt, Germany. Credits: Andrea Graser, Friedrich Biedermann

Light up – The Potential of Light in Museum Architecture
Edition Angewandte
Publisher: Birkhäuser
Year: 2023
Author: Andrea Graser
Pages: 224
Size: 27,9 x 18,4 cm
Price: € 42,00 [D]
Language: English
Graphic design: Caroline Ecker
Translator: Michael Bernstein
ISBN: 978-0356-2705-3 En
E-Book: 978-3-0356-2706-0 En

research presentation

Opening: 20 Mar 2019, 17:00

Running: 20 Mar 2019 – 06 Mar 2019

Lighthouse

Light as the building block of the future museum by architect Andrea Graser in cooperation with artist Friedrich Biedermann

The essence of light is to define our perception of art and space.

installation view | Image by ©

Lighthouse is an installation that plays an active role in the discourse surrounding the ‘future museum’. Its light source is not static but dynamic and always changing. Artists, curators and architects develop a setting based on the preliminary findings from the current research into ‘light as the building block of the future museum’ by architect Andrea Graser.

Light is the key design element within the white cube.

The essence of light is to define our perception of art and space. An interplay of art, space and light. A 24-hour time lapse. Between light and darkness. Between ambient light and signal lights. Putting the connection of material space and substantial light to the test.

In cooperation with artist Friedrich Biedermann. The image shows part of his sculpture Lighthouse.

installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©

Photos: Studio Okular

book presentation

31 May 2023, 18:00

Playing with Ludwig

How do colours relate to memory? How does language relate to the world (and vice versa)? Can the invisible, such as thoughts, atmospheres or pain, be grasped through art?

On the occasion of the publication of the book ‘Playing with Ludwig’ by Nikolaus Gansterer and Klaus Speidel, two performative activations are taking place at AIL and Secession Wien.

How do colours relate to memory? How does language relate to the world (and vice versa)? Can the invisible, such as thoughts, atmospheres or pain, be grasped through art?

Image by ©

Artist Nikolaus Gansterer and philosopher Klaus Speidel discuss these and similar questions in the newly published book Playing with Ludwig, Figures of Thinking, published by Éditions Dilecta Paris. Taking Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations as their starting point, Gansterer and Speidel have developed various works and formats, talking, drawing, assembling or doing all at the same time. Rather than just presenting results, the book documents the joint working process in numerous transcripts, which also reflect the genesis of the book itself. The work thus opens with a conversation between the authors and the book’s designer Grégoire Romanet, where the first graphic ideas are discussed. It ends with the dialogue ‘How to close a book’, which prepares the final series of images. Exhibition photographs and works from the first exhibition documenting the research project Figures de pensée at the Centre d’art contemporain Les Tanneries have been annotated, continued or completed in drawings. Different styles and methodologies, which unfold in the chapters of the book, correspond to different methods and themes in Wittgenstein’s work. Two additional precise essays by Eric Degoute, director of Les Tanneries, and Roger Malbert, curator and drawing expert, elaborate on the dynamic relationship between thinking and drawing and reading as a form of friendship. In the series ‘Philosophical Deviations’, Nikolaus Gansterer draws on various paragraphs of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, exploring various forms and procedures. Gansterer explains: ‘It’s important to say that none of these drawings are illustrations. I try to record how the text operates within me, how it influences my ways of thinking and feeling and then to take this movement as a springboard for drawing. It’s not so much about what is being said, but how it moves a reader.’

Image by ©

At the centre of the book stand the paragraphs of the Philosophical Investigations themselves, to which the various works and conversations in the book refer, annotated in writing and drawing by Klaus Speidel. Memories of Colour, Just imagine a Rod and Now as One Thing, Now as Another are based on collections of hues, rods, and boxes (respectively). As Speidel, who obtained a PhD in philosophy from Sorbonne University, explains: ‘In our joint work, I am also interested in exploring the limits of philosophical abstraction. If we fail in our attempt at artistic concretization, this failure can in itself convey new insights in the sense of what Wittgenstein called ‚going against the frontiers of language’. I believe that art production enables philosophical insights.’ This interference between philosophy and art can be experienced concretely in the titular series Playing with Ludwig. In this performative experimental arrangement, two or more people sit opposite each other. Starting from a text, a new language game unfolds with drawings and objects.

Image by ©

On the occasion of the publication of the book Playing with Ludwig by Nikolaus Gansterer and Klaus Speidel, two performative activations are planned:

1. Zerlesung und Tischgespräch / Dereading and table talk. 

Wed, 31 May 2023, 18:00

AIL, Otto Wagner-Postsparkasse, Georg-Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna

Table Talk: Nikolaus Gansterer, Klaus Speidel, Gerhild Steinbuch, Ruth Anderwald and Alexander Damianisch

2. Umzeichnung und Tischperformance / Undrawing and table game 

Thu, 1 Jun 2023, 19:00: 

Secession, Friedrichstraße 12, 1010 Vienna

Performance: Gansterer and Speidel invite you to the first Viennese Language Game Lab at the Secession, where they will work with drawings and objects based on a remark by Ludwig Wittgenstein, so that in the end a temporary installation is created according to the method of 'Playing with Ludwig'.

Image by ©

Info about the book:

Playing with Ludwig: Figures of Thinking / Jouer avec Ludwig: Figures de pensée,
Nikolaus Gansterer & Klaus Speidel
Publisher: Éditions Dilecta, Paris
Year 2022
Authors: Nikolaus Gansterer, Klaus Speidel, Eric Degoute, Roger Malbert
Pages: 160
Size: 21 x 28 cm
Language: bilingual English / French
Graphic design: Gregoire Romanet
ISBN: 978-2-37372-165-2

alumni in residence

Opening: 06 Jul 2016, 12:00

Running: 06 Jul 2016 – 12 Aug 2016

Choreo-graphic Figures

Summer Lab with artist Nikolaus Gansterer, choreographer Mariella Greil and writer Emma Cocker

A cooperation of AIL and ImPulsTanz Festival in the context of the artistic research project Choreo-graphic Figures: Deviations from the Line

performer on floor, sorting materials, holding sheets of paper | Image by ©

In conversation with ‘sputniks’ Alex Arteaga, Lilia Mestre, Christine de Smedt and guests, the lab will reflect on choreo-graphic qualities of translation processes, changes in perception and language forms. Expanding on previous research into forms of notation and ‘radical scores of attention’, the focus of this project will now be on experimental publication formats presented in different lectures, workshops and performances.

In cooperation with AIL and ImPulsTanz Festival, the summer lab will take place in the context of the artistic research project Choreo-graphic Figures: Deviations from the Line by artist Nikolaus Gansterer, choreographer Mariella Greil and writer Emma Cocker.

drawing materials sorted on floor | Image by ©

Program

FRIDAY LECTURES I

22 July, 18:00

two special guests of Intensive I will give public lectures at AILab, Vienna. Admission free.

– Dieter Mersch: ‘Figuration/Defiguration. On the dialectics of Choreo-Graphy’

– P. A. Skantze: ‘I’m A Strange Kind of In-Between Thing’

Moderated by Chris Standfest (ImPulsTanz)+

FRIDAY LECTURES II

29 July, 18:00

two special guests of Intensive II will give public lectures at AILab, Vienna. Admission free.

– Brandon LaBelle: ‘This Weakness That I Am’

– Alva Noe: ‘Writing Ourselves’

Moderated by Chris Standfest (ImPulsTanz),

in conversation with the team and the guests of Choreo-graphic Figures research project.

The PEEK-research project Choreo-graphic Figures by Emma Cocker, Nikolaus Gansterer and Mariella Greil is supported by the FWF Austrian Science Fund.

DURATIONAL PERFORMACE

2 August, 16:00

Choreo-graphic Figures: Body Diagrams

Comprising performative, discursive and installation based elements, Choreo-graphic Figures: Body Diagrams unfolds as a six- hour durational Radical Score of Attention, where members of the public are invited to come and go, to dwell and linger.

(Nikolaus Gansterer, Mariella Greil, Emma Cocker, Alex Arteaga, Lilia Mestre, Christine de Smedt, Jörg Piringer, Werner Moebius…)

Photo 1: Choreo-graphic Figures
Photo 2: Martina Lajczak

exhibition

Opening: 13 Jun 2023, 18:00

Running: 14 Jun 2023 – 14 Jul 2023

Threads of Life

Textiles in Medicine and the Arts

About the multifaceted relationship between textiles, medicine and the arts. Presentation of historical and artistic positions that enter into a dialogue and generate productive tensions.

EXHIBITION OPENING HOURS: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fr: 13.00 – 18.00; Thu: 13.00 – 20.00

Although textiles have been indispensable to medicine since time immemorial, their role in this context has been understudied so far. From the surgical thread, wound dressings, wipes, pads, and protective clothing to the hospital bed, the practices of healing are unimaginable without them. But the relationship between textiles in the arts, wellbeing and health is much broader. It includes, but is not restricted to, the use of such techniques as knitting, crocheting, weaving or braiding in the development of cardiovascular grafts or surgical meshes. The use of textiles is also ambivalent. They have found use in psychiatric institutions for the bodily restraint of patients, but patients also used them for designing their environment and creating body wrappings as survival strategies. Textiles can also be a source of ill-health: Beyond the addition of harmful substances during their production, textiles have been used in fashion for centuries to shape, deform and discipline the body according to ideals of beauty. Practitioners from the fields visual arts and artistic research reflect on this complicated relationship in manifold ways. Artists use fabrics to evoke the vulnerability of the human body, its ongoing decay and imminent death, and also to highlight the complexity of interhuman relationships. They draw attention to (self-)care, understanding the human anatomy, perceiving one’s own corporeality, and to the ways in which textiles can become an existential embodiment. Beyond the metaphorical “Threads of Life”, suturing connects the craft of surgery with that of tailoring. The exhibition spotlights the multifaceted relationships between textiles, medicine and the arts. It brings historical objects and contemporary artistic positions into a dialogue that generates productive tensions.

Save the Date: The exhibition will be accompanied by an interdisciplinary conference on 20 Jun 2023, 10:00 – 18:30

Artists:

Sonja Bäumel, Pascale Maxime Ballieul, Camille Borchert, Ida Flora Frantal, Raja Goltz, Barbara Graf, Ruth Anderwald + Leonhard Grond, Elizabeth McGlynn, Ute Neuber, Katharina Sabernig, Hannah Schwab, Yuliia Strykovska, Leo Ruben Enosch Zellweger

Curatorial team:

Monika Ankele (Medical University of Vienna), Barbara Graf (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Katrin Pilz (Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital History, Vienna), Monika Pietrzak-Franger (University of Vienna), Barbara Putz-Plecko (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Katharina Sabernig (University of Applied Arts Vienna), Georg Vasold (University of Vienna).

The curatorial team is part of the transdisciplinary working group History of Medicine and Medical/Health Humanities of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

image

Exhibition View: Conceptual Joining – Wood Structures from Detail to Utopia

Investigation on wood constructions in a series of structural and spatial experiments from 2019

The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space

Exhibition space with wood constructions from the exhibition | Image by ©
Kigumi tower | Image by ©
Wooden constructions on tables | Image by ©
Details of wooden constructions | Image by ©
Details floor, markers and wood branch standing | Image by ©
wood construction in total | Image by ©
Model for Wood construction | Image by ©
Team behind Conceptual Joining standing in front of a wooden tower | Image by © Team behind Conceptual Joining

Conceptual Joining – Wood Structures from Detail to Utopia was shown at AIL in October 2019.

The artistic research project Conceptual Joining investigates wood constructions in a series of structural and spatial experiments. By combining the intelligence of traditional craftsmanship with the potential of computational techniques different design methods and techniques are developed.

The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space. Branch Formations is about utilizing naturally grown wood elements as components of a spatial framework. In Interlocking Spaces joining principles, derived from traditional Japanese Architecture, are expanded by digital systematics, forming complex configurations. The working process and results of 2.5 years of research are presented. Full scale installations, models, videos and Augmented Reality allow for an interactive experience of an architectural speculation.

Projektteam:
Leitung: Christoph Kaltenbrunner

Forschungsteam: Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg, Mechthild Weber

MentorInnen: Karin Raith, Anja Jonkhans und Clemens Preisinger

Ein Projekt gefördert von österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds (FWF) / PEEK Programm

Photos: Zara Pfeifer

text

Conceptual Joining: Backstage Report

From our Newsletter 2019 (Interview in German)

Daniela Kröhnert and Lukas Allner giving us insights in their research project and experiences

figure of stacking system | Image by ©

Das Forschungsteam von Conceptual Joining zeigte im Winter 2019 in Form einer Ausstellung im AIL ihre Arbeit und Ergebnisse, im Rahmen dessen haben wir Daniela Kröhnert and Lukas Allner gebeten uns einige Hintergründe und Erfahrungen zum Projekt zu beleuchten:

Wir haben im Grunde untersucht wie das Wesen des Materials Holz raum- und strukturbildend erlebbar wird. Unsere Überlegungen begannen im Detail, in Prinzipien und Systemen zunächst losgelöst von einem konkreten Gebrauchszweck.

Wir wollen mit den entstandenen Experimenten Spekulationen über eine materialorientierte Architektur anregen, die auf eine mögliche Funktion und Deutung aus dem sich ergebenden Potential verweisen.

Team at work | Image by ©

Wie setzt sich euer Team zusammen, wer kommt aus welchem Kontext?

Wir sind alle Architekten, mit verschiedenen Hintergründen und Expertisen, zum Beispiel ist Philipp Reinsberg auch Zimmermann und Daniela Kröhnert Spezialistin für CNC Fabrikation. Unsere Mentoren sind Professor*innen und Unterrichtende an der Angewandten in verschiedenen Bereichen mit weiteren Kompetenzen zum Beispiel als Ingenieur*innen, Industriedesigner und Wissenschaftler*innen.

Unser Team wird angeleitet von Prof. Christoph Kaltenbrunner, momentan Professor am Institut für Kunstpädagogik und leitet die Abteilung Darstellung, Architektur und Environment und vereint den Architekten, Produktdesigner und Maschinenbauer in einer Person.

Das Forschungsteam sind Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg und Mechthild Weber, alle studierte Architekt*innen, mit unterschiedlichen Vorausbildungen und Spezialisierungen. Philipp ist gelernter Zimmerer, Daniela Spezialistin in Digitaler Fabrikation, Lukas Stärken liegen vor allem im Entwurf und der konzeptionellen Entwicklung unserer Experimente und sorgt für eine kohärente Umsetzung der Forschungsagenda, Mechthild ist Expertin wenn es darum geht die komplexen Prozesse in der Bauausführung mit der Kunst zu verbinden und steuert unsere Forschungsagenda indem sie für den Wissensaustausch zwischen allen Beteiligten (auch Forschungspartner*innen) sorgt. Zusätzlich werden wir betreut durch die Mentor*innen, Prof. Karin Raith und Anja Jonkhans aus der Abteilung Baukontruktion des Instituts für Architektur und Clemens Preisinger, Bauingenieur und Entwickler der parametrischen Tragwerkssoftware Karmaba3D.

workshop in the woods | Image by ©

Wie entsteht so ein Forschungs-Projekt?

Es gibt vom österreichischen Wissenschaftsfond (FWF) ein Förderprogramm zu künstlerischer Grundlagenforschung (PEEK). Es werden Projekte von 2,5 Jahren Dauer gefördert. Das Tolle an diesem Programm ist die vollkommen ergebnisoffene Ausschreibung, als Forschende*r ist man also sehr frei in der Untersuchung von Fragestellungen. Wir haben uns als Gruppe von befreundeten ehemaligen Kommiliton*innen, zunächst zu dritt zusammengefunden, als wir die Themenstellung für den Förderungsantrag entwickelten, kamen die weiteren Team-Mitglieder dazu.

Der Ausgangspunkt war eine weitergeleitete Anfrage, ein Projektkonzept zu einem innovativen Klebstoff zu entwickeln. Durch die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Zusammenfügen von verschiedenen Materialien / Teilen (per Verklebung) kamen wir sehr schnell auf das Material Holz. Uns faszinierten einerseits die komplexen Materialeigenschaften und -formen, andererseits die vielfältige Kultur der Fügemethoden in der Handwerks- und Baukunst.

excursion to Japan | Image by ©

Ihr habt zur Recherche eine Exkursion nach Japan gemacht, was ist euch besonders in Erinnerung geblieben?

Besonders beeindruckend war wie gleichzeitig uralte Tradition und High Tech überall präsent sind. Die Einzigartigkeit der zeitgenössischen japanischen Architektur kommt auch daher, dass traditionelle mit futuristischen Ansätzen sich zu etwas Neuartigem verbinden.

Ein besonderes Erlebnis war wie traditionelle Zeder-Bäume aufwändig gezüchtet werden, um perfekt gerade Stämme zu bilden, diese Wälder wirken wie riesige Säulenhallen. Noch extremer ist die Kunst des “Daisugi”, einer speziellen Baumzucht, in der oben auf einer Art Mutterbaum gerade gewachsene Nebentriebe als Pfetten (eine Form von Dachlatten) für Teehäuser im spezifischen Sukiya-Stil wachsen gelassen werden. Herr Iwai, der allerletzte, der dieses Handwerk noch betreibt, hat uns großzügig in sein schönes uraltes Holzhaus zu einem traditionellen Tee eingeladen und Einblick in das alltägliche japanische Leben in einem Bergdorf nördlich von Kyoto gegeben. Überhaupt ist die Liebe zum Detail und zur Perfektion in allem spürbar.

preparing the wood | Image by ©
augmented reality in the exhibition | Image by ©

Welches Potential seht ihr in der Verbindung von Handwerk und neuer Technik?

Wir glauben dass mit den Möglichkeiten von Computern und Technologie mit hoher Irregularität und Komplexität umgegangen werden kann. Es ist nicht mehr unbedingt notwendig in gleichförmigen Standards zu denken, individuelle Realisierungen von Räumen und Objekten als Unikate sind möglich. Durch Technologie wird ein neuer Zugang zu Material und Handwerkskunst möglich.

robot and graphic working with wood | Image by ©

Daniela hatte mir im Vorfeld von "Robotic Production der Branch Formation" und "Augmented Reality Programmierung" geschrieben – Worum geht es hier genau, wie sieht der Arbeitsprozess aus?

Im Holzbau werden immer öfter computergesteuerte Maschinen und automatisierte Prozesse eingesetzt, diese ermöglichen eine komplexe Bearbeitung mit hoher Präzision. Solche CNC Maschinen, wie etwa eine automatische “Abbundanlage” werden dazu verwendet vorgefertigte Holzbalken herzustellen, die auf der Baustelle ohne grossen Aufwand montiert werden. Hauptsächlich werden so konventionelle ("konservative") Satteldächer hergestellt, wir sehen aber ein großes Potential für komplexe erlebbare Architekturen, die sich so realisieren lassen. Über die Dauer des Projektes haben wir verschiedene Prototypen von irregulären Stabstrukturen umgesetzt, einige davon sind in unserer Ausstellung zu sehen.

Heterogene Werkstücke wie Astgabeln lassen sich schwer mit herkömmlichen Maschinen bearbeiten, es gibt keine geraden Flächen oder gleiche Teile. Für diese Herausforderung ist die räumliche 7-Achs-Bearbeitung mit einem Roboterarm besonders interessant. Diese Maschinen kennt man vielleicht von vollautomatisierten Produktionsstraßen in der Autoindustrie, wo diese Roboter komplexe Arbeitsabläufe präzise ausführen. An den Arm können viele verschiedene Werkzeuge montiert werden.

Die Angewandte besitzt eine solche Maschine, wir haben für dieses Projekt eine spezielle Vorrichtung entwickelt, auf der Äste eingespannt werden. Nach einigen Versuchen hat sich ein Ablauf etabliert indem jedes Teil über drei Referenzpunkt eingemessen wird, wodurch die digitale 3D Geometrie mit dem physischen Objekt synchronisiert wird, anschließend wird mit einer Kettensäge bearbeitet. Vorrausgesetzt alle Dateien sind erstellt, dauert die Bearbeitung für ein Teil inklusive Befestigung und Einmessen 30 bis 40 min, der Roboter wird von einer Person bedient.

Als Alternative haben wir ein Verfahren entwickelt, in dem wir mit Hilfe einer Augmented Reality Anwendung auf einem Smartphone Äste von Hand bearbeiten können. Mit sogenannten AR Apps lassen sich virtuelle Informationen mit der physischen Umgebung überlagern. In unserem Fall haben wir dieses Werkzeug dazu genutzt virtuelle Umrisslinien der Verbindungsdetails auf die physischen Elemente zu projizieren, nachzuzeichnen und schließlich mit einfachen Handwerkzeugen (Handsäge, etc.) auszuschneiden. Dieser Prozess war sehr interessant für uns, weil wir darin das Potential sehen durch Computer Software mit einfachen, leicht verfügbaren Werkzeugen ein hochkomplexes Projekt zu realisieren.

Ähnliche AR Anwendungen haben wir auch verwendet, um die großen Gesamtstrukturen zusammenzusetzen und aufzubauen. Es gab keinerlei physische Pläne oder Zeichnungen, lediglich eine virtuelle Bauanleitung fuer ein 3D Puzzle.

The artistic research project Conceptual Joining investigates wood constructions in a series of structural and spatial experiments. By combining the intelligence of traditional craftsmanship with the potential of computational techniques different design methods and techniques are developed.

The exhibition focuses on two projects that explore the relationship between material, structure and space. Branch Formations is about utilizing naturally grown wood elements as components of a spatial framework. In Interlocking Spaces joining principles, derived from traditional Japanese Architecture, are expanded by digital systematics, forming complex configurations. The working process and results of 2.5 years of research are presented. Full scale installations, models, videos and Augmented Reality allow for an interactive experience of an architectural speculation.

Projektteam:
Leitung: Christoph Kaltenbrunner

Forschungsteam: Lukas Allner, Daniela Kröhnert, Philipp Reinsberg, Mechthild Weber

MentorInnen: Karin Raith, Anja Jonkhans und Clemens Preisinger

Ein Projekt gefördert von österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds (FWF) / PEEK Programm

All Photos: Conceptual Joining
Questions by Eva Weber

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Exhibition View: Labor der Plötzlichkeit. Elektrische Funken und Entladungen

Different daily constellations will offer a new way of looking at the material of of lightning or electricity from 2016

The highly charged collection of items will diffuse over the course of the event

installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
big tesla coils | Image by ©
high voltage installation | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
installation view | Image by ©
testing electricity with small tesla coil | Image by ©

In a laboratory and experimental setting, objects will be collected that are either products of the effects of lightning or electrically charged themselves – ranging from the historical electrostatic generator, fulgurites and tesla coils to contemporary artworks.

The highly charged collection of items will diffuse over the course of the event – the exhibition objects will be spread and scattered across the space of AIL. The different daily constellations will offer a new way of looking at the material. Additional discursive formats will expand the field of research and explore the phenomenon of electrostatic discharge in other practices and areas of expertise.

Contributors:
Anita Bauer & Günther Oberleitner & Nadja Schreier, Dietmar Brehm, Chris Burden, Laura Egger-Karlegger & Sarah Podbelsek, Judith Fegerl, Nikolaus Gansterer, Anna Jordan & Maria Mäser, Uli Kühn & Robert Zimmermann, Peter Kutin, David Moises & Chris Janka, Stephan Pack, Lisl Ponger, Alexander Trnka, among others.

Lead: Christoph Kaltenbrunner & Katrin Nora Kober

In cooperation with Anita Bauer, Konrad Cernohous, Anna Jordan, Sarah Radatz, Philip Röttl, Stefan Ryba, Nadja Schreier, Martina Zodl, among others.

installation view | Image by ©

Photos: Martina Lajczak

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Exhibition View: Silence Matters

Alumni in Residence from 2018

International interdisciplinary performance and exhibition project which explores the increasing interest in mindfulness and awareness

Objects in exhibition space | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space, people performing | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space, people performing | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space, people performing | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space, people performing | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space | Image by ©
Objects in exhibition space | Image by ©

silence matters is an international interdisciplinary performance and exhibition project which explores the increasing interest in mindfulness and awareness in our society artistically and academically. The aim of this project is to create a special experience and increase the visibility of issues surrounding research into mindfulness and awareness on the basis of contemporary artistic positions form the fields of performance, sculpture, sound and drawing.

silence matters challenges our individual perception, our awareness and experience of time in order to redirect our attention to momentary details and individual experiences.

National and international artistic positions from different disciplines will be developed, produced and presented in various performance and exhibition formats. The project’s mission is to connect these expanding fields of interest and to allow new things to emerge from unconventional contexts.

Organizer and curator: Jasmin Schaitl

Program

Performance Part 1
27 Jan, 19:00
presents two new collaborative performative works by

Laura Oriol (US/FR) in collaboration with Jasmin Hoffer (AT)
Leva Savickaitė (LT) in collaboration with Kamen Stoyanov (BG/AT)

WORKSHOP
silence no limit, 28. Januar, 14-18 Uhr
28 Jan, 18:00

Workshop by Dr. Rudolf Kapellner

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen.

Performance Part II
30 Jan, 19:00

presents two new collaborative performative works by
Kamila Elżbieta Wolszczak (PL) in collaboration with Oh Liv | Olivia Schellander (AT)
Laura Oriol (US/FR) in collaboration with Jasmin Hoffer(AT)

Co-Curator Anne Glassner

Peformances by and with
Jasmin Hoffer (AT), Laura Oriol (FR/US), Ieva Savickaité (LT), Olivia Schellander (AT), Kamen Stoyanov (BG/AT), Kamila Wolszczak (PL)

Workshop by Rudolf Kapellner

Exhibited works by
Matěj Frank (CZ/PL), Ulrike Königshofer (AT), Alfred Lenz (AT), Bernd Oppl (AT), Monika Rabofsky (AT)

Project of Verein ‘Collaboration: interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit in Performance- und Kunstprojekten’

Supported by: Polish Institute in Vienna, ARTist – graduate association of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, Office of the Federal Chancellor of Austria

Photos: Tim Plagemann