NOUS - 20yrs of mediating art, technology, and society at Interface Cultures

Ausstellung NOUS von 4. bis 8. September 2024, 10.00  bis 19.00 Uhr in der Post City

weitere Veranstaltungsorte es Festivals sind Ars Electronica Center | Kunstuniversität Linz | Sonnensteinloft | Ursulinenkirche | hello yellow Velodrom by Schachermayer

The Interface Cultures department turns twenty this year! Now, it is a common trait of any anniversary, and particularly ones that conclude a decade, to make you reflect on the past, present, and future. It is similar with an institution, anniversaries cause us to marvel at how many people have contributed to its evolution, and how many more will do so in times to come. 

NOUS, the title of this year’s IC exhibition at Ars Electronica, picks up on this spirit of introspection, asking what IC has been, what it is, and what it will become. NOUS. French for “we”. But what is this “we” exactly? Is it something that keeps changing? It would be tempting to say yes, after all, in the field of digital art, which quickly reacts to the advances in technology, nothing stays the same for long. Fancy an example? Since the official initiation of IC in 2004 and now the density of transistors on computer processors has increased from 1.4 to 144 million – per square millimetre! And let’s not get us started on the whole AI thing. But there is more to it. We like to think that IC encompasses a definitive stance and creative approach, rooted in addressing the complexities of technology with artistic curiosity. NOUS does not stay within the confines of the department. It is open and collaborative, characterized by plurality of thought and a willingness to learn new things. In this sense all the artworks in this IC exhibition share the same DNA with works in previous years, reflecting the continuity of the IC stance. At the same time, students’ highly personal and individual artistic explorations, their manifold interests and innovation are manifested and realized in an ever-shifting technological framework.

A layer deeper, NOUS also represents philosophical concepts from antiquity used to grapple with the nature of reality and cognition, fundamental questions of how we are able to understand, recognize, and think. These questions are never entirely answered and are revisited to this day with the epistemological tools at hand. Knowledge and technology changes, but some questions always remain. But for sure there are many styles in trying to understand and make sense of the world. Just as Ars Electronica has done so brilliantly since its founding, IC seeks to do so by mediating art, technology, and society. Together, we will continue on this path through this tumultuous time we call the digital age. 

Faculty: Manuela Naveau, Laurent Mignonneau, Fabricio Lamoncha, Michaela Ortner, Gertrude Hörlesberger, Alexander Wöran

Till Schönwetter, Miguel Rangil, Salma Aly, Yuseung Lee, Liyuan Dong, Weichen Zhang, Daniel Fischer, Andrea Corradi, Camilla Scholz, Maria Orciuoli, Martina Pizzigoni, Danielius Šermukšnis, Mantė Elelueta, Sofia Talanti, Emma Silvana Tripaldi, Lilly Stelzer, Flavia Somarriba Perez-Desoy, Alessia Fallica, Ahmed Jamal, Rene Preuer, Mathias Gartner, Maria Konstantinova, Maria Dirneder, Behiye Erdemir, Doğuş Karlık, Sule Suarez, Lukas Romero, Viktoria Angyal, Ahmad Aiuby