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AR&D – the Next-Art Node
enabled by Ars Electronica and SAP
Ars Electronica and SAP AG are assembling a network for the art of tomorrow. AR&D stands for artistic research & development, and describes the objective of this ambitious collaboration: the development and mediation of new ideas and concepts for art that works with and in digital environments.
Innovation, conceived as the transformation and renewal of the status quo, has been radicalized by technological advancement. Under the joint influence of technological change and globalization, we are now experiencing one of the greatest phases of upheaval in the modern era: New ideas are acquiring their own dynamic and knowledge monopolies are being dismantled. We must not let this process of innovation run unguided—we need to shape it and not lose sight of the dangers that could stem from any abuse. For the deployment of new technologies has long since expanded beyond the limited purview of business processes. All areas of society have undergone a transformation, which is why all the forces of influence in public life are being called upon to contribute their expertise and vision. In the context of this clash, the arts play an important role because, as Paul Klee said, “the arts do not simply reveal what is visible, rather they make visible.” Where new technologies are concerned, the media arts can create new impulses.
Consequently, Ars Electronica 2002 is more than just an agreement between a company and a cultural institution: We see this partnership as a prototype for a new form of artistic, technological, and social cooperation. SAP is contributing its experience as a global organization: innovative thinking, employee creativity, and the technological strengths of the world’s leading provider of software solutions for e-business.
Teamwork is the foundation of everything we do at SAP and we are delighted, therefore, to welcome the Ars Electronica Center on board.Henning Kagermann
Co-chairman and CEO, SAP AG In addition to the presentation of exceptional works, prime emphasis is on the production of new media art. An artist-in-residence program has been designed especially with “basic research in the arts” and younger artists in mind; theoretical accompaniment and publications assure the ongoing effectiveness of this cooperation.
To launch this venture, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Body Movies, Prix Ars Electronica 2002 Award of Distinction winner in Interactive Art, will be presented simultaneously at SAPPHIRE ’02 Lisbon, SAP’s annual European business convention, and at Ars Electronica in Linz—thus in both the world of the software industry and the domain of media art. An additional area of concentration is the development of Hidden Worlds, a new theme exhibit that will premiere at the Ars Electronica Center and then go on tour.
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