ARS ELECTRONICA ARCHIVE - ART & SCIENCE

The basis of the „European Digital Art and Science Network“ is a big manifold network consisting of scientific mentoring institutions (ESA, CERN, ESO and Fraunhofer MEVIS), the Ars Electronica Futurelab and seven European cultural partners (Center for the promotion of science, RS – DIG Gallery, SK – Zaragoza City of Knowledge Foundation, ES – Kapelica Gallery / Kersnikova, SI – GV Art, UK – Laboral, ES – Science Gallery, IE. The EU funded project lasted from 2014 to 2017.
The Online Archive of Ars Electronica provides an overview of the individual activities of the network and also delivers information about the network itself, the residency artists and the involved project partners and the jury.

Artist Residency at ESO 2016 - Quadrature (DE) 2016

Artist Residency at ESO 2016 - Quadrature (DE)

Following María Ignacia Edwards’ residency at ESO in 2015, the members of the Quadrature artists’ collective, Jan Bernstein, Juliane Götz, and Sebastian Neitsch (all DE), were the next recipients of the European Digital Art and Science Network residency at the European Southern Observatory in 2016.

After 2 days of Jury deliberations (22. – 23.02.2016) the members of the jury, Gerfried Stocker, Horst Hörtner, Martin Honzik (all Ars Electronica), Slobodan Coba Jovanovic (CPN), Richard Kitta (DIG gallery), Fernando Comerón (ESO), Robert Devčić (GV Art London), Jurij Krpan (Kapelica Gallery), Lucía García Rodríguez (LABoral), Lynn Scarff (Science Gallery Dublin), and Fermin Serrano Sanz (Zaragoza City of Knowledge Foundation) issued the following statement:

“Quadrature are not new to the exploration of space; their previous work has tracked the movement of the Voyager space probe and given it a physical, kinetic manifestation here on Earth. This making the unseen visible was an exciting proposition of their proposal for the ESO residency. As a collective, their practice is already embedded in the processes of collaborative practice that are critical to the success of an art science residency of this nature. Their proposal addressed questions around how their work would develop and manifest in a physical exhibition space like Ars Electronica and offer a compelling experience to visitors, enabling them to sense the unseen, to momentarily lift off and experience deep space. Their intimate knowledge of the constraints and possibilities of the technology at ESO demonstrated a body of knowledge and work that sets the scene for exciting outputs. In summary, the members of the jury are assured that Quadrature’s residency at the ESO in Chile and at the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz has significant artistic potential and innovation within the art science space.”
Statement of the Jury

(Source: The Practice of Art and Science, p. 38)

Year of creation

2016

Urls

Interview: “We feel a bit like explorers ourselves”: https://www.aec.at/aeblog/en/2016/03/15/artandscience-quadrature/
Feature: The ESO Expedition: https://www.aec.at/feature/de/esoexpedition/
Interview: On Absurd Landscapes and Habitable Exoplanets: https://www.aec.at/aeblog/en/2016/09/01/von-absurden-landschaften-und-habitablen-exoplaneten/

Start:

Jan 01, 2016

Quadrature, ESO, Ars Electronica

Quadrature (DE) visiting ESO

from left to right: Fernando Comerón (ESO Chile), Claudia Schnugg (Ars Electronica Futurelab), Jan Bernstein, Juliane Götz, and Sebastian Neitsch (Quadrature)

Picture is showing their visit to the headquarter of ESO in Garching, Germany.

Quadrature (DE) visiting ESO

the artists in the Integration Lab, where Samuel Leveque described tests being performed there.

Quadrature (DE) visiting ESO

Quadrature at the VLT platform

Quadrature at the VLT platform: Fernando Comerón personally explains to the three artists how the VLT works, how the giant telescope can rotate, what calibrations are necessary, and the functions of the reflectors and lasers.

Quadrature (DE) visiting ESO

Masses / Quadrature (DE)

Photo showing MASSES at the bunker of POSTCITY.
Quadrature’s installation manifests the meaning of a Sisyphean task. The sole purpose of the machine is to maintain two large stones on a steel plate in perfect equilibrium. An endless succession of feedback effects and adjustments is necessary to prevent the incessantly threatening, imminent loss of balance.

STONES: Storage Technology for Observed Nearby / Quadrature (DE)

Photo showing STONES at the bunker exhibition at POSTCITY.

STONES liberates objectively assured facts - such as that there are 40+ known planets on which water could exist - from any and all human interpretation and passes them on to coming generations in their pure form as representations for which no prerequisite cultural background is necessary for them to be grasped. Instead, they can be decoded by means of pure logic and scientific observations.