fluctuating images. contemporary
media art
Verein zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Kunst mit neuen Medien
e.V. (association for contemporary art with new media)
start: March 14, 2004, assocation since February 7, 2006
aims:
- contemporary media art
- independent
- non-commercial
- international and regional orientation, alternating or combined
- interface between art – science – public
- discursive reflection and information on art
publications:
via internet www.fluctuating-images.de
financial structure:
basic expenses and expositions: private resources and sponsoring
staff:
curators and PR: Dr. Cornelia Lund and Dr. Holger Lund
guest curators: Anja Füsti and Oliver Prechtl (Plattform
für freie Musik); Matthias Siegert (Rotlichtkonzerte)
graphics: Jan Schöttler, Kai Heuser, Oliver Moore, Johannes Hennicke,
Eva Schmeckenbecher, Ilja Knezovic
collaborators: Stefan Albertz, Frederike Brocke, Florian
Härle, Annette Helfferich, Alex Holz, Gitte Lindmaier,
Meike Frank, Myriam Elabdi, Romina Langer, Shannon Leser,
Martin Stößel, Khoi Duong, Max Stilz, Eva-Maria Offermann,
Jakob Wolfrum
translation: Lutz Eitel
fluctuating images is a member of the association Visual Music Stuttgart: www.visual-music.net and
of the association ADKV www.adkv.de.
fluctuating images. contemporary media art – concept
What is media art? First, media art can be defined as an art
which uses media for aesthetic purposes. It also is an art which visibly
questions the use of media as such. Media art, in brief, offers aesthetic
products presenting reflections on media and mediality.
The notion of ’media art’ was established in the 1980s in
connection with the digital New Media. For a long time, all forms of art
using New Media for aesthetic purposes have been regarded as ’media
art’. ’Media art’, according to this definition, does
not necessarily contain reflections on media or mediality.
This very reductive notion of ’media art’, however, soon became
an object of critical discussion among art theorists who felt that the
the exclusive focus on New Media should be replaced by an analysis of
specific artistic ways of dealing with media – digital and analogue
– in general. This attempt was supported by the decline of the New
Economy. Once the hype about New Economy had passed, a critical discussion
of 'media art' could finally take place.
One could say that the reflection on media and mediality actually started
to develop during the Renaissance. Important steps in this process were:
the increasing significance of the individual, the institutionalization
of artistic education and the theorization of the artistic genres (painting,
sculpture and architecture). The paragone, the competition between the
genres, was particularly contributing to the increasing awareness of
specific
uses of media. Artistic specialization and the concept of the uomo universale
are two sides of this process.
The avantgardist positions of the late 19th century and the avantgardes
of the early 20th century finally led to the so called “media turn“,
theoretically condensed in MacLuhan’s famous dictum “the medium
is the message“.
Since this media turn, artists have been extensively using the possibilities
of aesthetic reflection on mediality in different media. The art gallery
fluctuating images. contemporary media art wants to offer a platform
to
contemporary works of art which add new and innovative perspectives to
this kind of self-reflecting mediality. Medial authenticity has been
questioned
for a long time, and since the war in Iraq (2003) one could even say
that authenticity has imploded. The artistic consequences of this critcal
analysis
of media are the intensified search for new, authentic media forms as
well as the search for valid metareflective methods. fluctuating images.
contemporary media art wants to show these newly developed artistic strategies.
Interface between art and science: fluctuating images. contemporary media
art is intended as a platform for the presentation of works of art as
well as for reflection on art. The aesthetic reflection on mediality
shall
be supplemented by scientific analysis in collaboration with scientific
institutions in order to create an interface between art and science.
The interface between art and science has been rather neglected in Germany
until now, even though projects based on this concept such as Artist-Research-Programmes
are common practice in the international context.
fluctuating images. contemporary media art also wants to establish a
regular intercourse between international and regional artistic productions,
for
example by combining local and international artistic production in group-exhibitions.
Accordingly, the gallery is going to be closely associated with the local
Stuttgart art scene and its activities will also give the local art scene
the chance to get directly in touch with international artists.
A broader public shall be reached through programmes such as presentations,
discussions with artists and guided tours open to the public. As a forum
and interface between aesthetic and scientific reflection fluctuating
images. contemporary media art is not only a platform for specialists
but also wants to make current discussions accessible to the interested
public through activities such as conferences or workshops.