Prix Ars Electronica Cyberarts 99
'Christine Schöpf
Christine Schöpf
It is not long now until the year 2000, the year that is regarded even today as a metaphor for the future. With the year 2000 the Ars Electronica Festival, celebrating its 20th anniversary in the year 1999, will enter the third decade of its existence. For over 20 years Ars Electronica has not only provided an analysis and commentary on the discourses revolving around the digital transformation taking place at tremendous speed, but has also, especially in its pioneering role, repeatedly introduced provocations and thus impulses for further development.
One of the qualitative cornerstone of the Ars Electronica Festival ist the Prix Ars Electronica. Since it was inaugurated in 1987 by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, Upper Austrian Regional Studio it has united the creative forces that formulate the principles of the digital transformation and make them accessible to a wider audience through their work.
From the beginning, the intention of the Prix Ars Electronica has been to provide an open forum and to extend an invitation to artists, researchers and creative people from various disciplines, yet as a competition it is also open for new trends and developments in digital media. Whereas the Prix Ars Electronica 1987 started with the competition categories Computer Graphics, Computer Animation and Computer Music, the section Interactive Art was added in 1990, and in 1995 the category Computer Graphics was replaced by one for the Internet. In keeping with continuing developments, the category Computer Animation was expanded in 1998 into the category for Computer Animation and Visual Effects with double awards. In addition, the Prix Ars Electronica opened up another field for young talent in the same year with the new section ”cybergeneration—u19 freestyle computing.”
Since its inception the Prix Ars Electronica has become a regular focal point every year for artists, designers, researchers and developers around the world. Again and again, its results represent the current state of digital media creativity independent of industrial norms. 1999 heralds a redefinition of the music category, as illustrated by the new designation ”Digital Musics.” Invitations to take part in the competition were extended to representatives from the fields of electronica (Noise, HipHop, Drum&Bass, Techno, DJ Culture, Ambient etc.), Sound and Media and computer compositions.
They say scheduled revolutions never happen, but those that are hoped for, obviously do. It is apparent that revolutionary changes in the area of digital musics do not take place in secret. There are several reasons why the results of the Prix Ars Electronica in the category ”digital musics” are worthy of the attribute revolutionary. For the first time, the award-winning artists do not come from areas associated with universities, but rather from the creative environment around record producers, from small, independent groups of artists. For the first time, the pioneering role of classical electro-acoustic with works conserved on tape has been superseded by live performances with technosound, Drum&Bass, noise and remixes. And for the first time, an Austrian label that has long since achieved international recognition, is among the winners.
PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA— CYBERARTS 99
.NET
Golden Nica Linus Torvalds—Linux
Distinctions Jean-Marc Philippe—KEO Willy Henshall / Matt Moller—Res Rocket
Honorary Mentions David P. Anderson—SETI@home Joanna Berzowska—Computational Expressionism CAAD / Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich—phase(x)3 Help B92 Coalition—Free B92 Eric Loyer—The Lair of the Marrow Monkey Daniel Julià Lundgren—REaCT Fumio Matsumoto / Shoei Matsukawa—Ginga Mark Napier—The Shredder Nick Philip—Nowhere.com Ramana Rao / Inxight—Hyperbolic Tree Christa Sommerer / Laurent Mignonneau—Verbarium Martin Wattenberg / Joon Yu—Map of the Market
INTERACTIVE ART
Golden Nica Lynn Hershman / Construct Internet Design—Difference Engine #3
Distinctions Luc Courchesne—Landscape One Perry Hoberman—Systems Maintenance
Honorary Mentions Joachim Blank / Karl Heinz Jeron—Scanner++ Christoph Ebener / Frank Fietzek / Uli Winters—Hamster—Symbiotic Exchange of Hoarded Energy Kouichirou Eto / Canon ARTLAB—Sound Creatures F.A.B.R.I.CATORS / K-Team—Robots & Avatars Dealing with Virtual Illusions Beate Garmer—Descartes oder die Einsamkeit der interaktiven Skulptur Bill Keays / Ron MacNeil—metaField Maze Russet Lederman—NYC Thought Pictures: Memories of Place Eric Paulos—Dispersion Simon Penny—Traces Daniel Rozin—Easel Stefan Schemat / Michael Joyce / Hiroki Maekawa / Dominica Freyer / Burki Carstens / Mike Felsmann / Isabella Bordoni / Roberto Paci Dalò—Augmented Reality Fiction Christa Sommerer / Laurent Mignonneau—HAZE Express
COMPUTER ANIMATION / VISUAL EFFECTS
Golden Nica / Computer Animation Chris Wegde—Bunny
Distinctions / Computer Animation John Lasseter / Andrew Stanton / Pixar—A Bug’s Life Bob Sabiston / Tommy Pallotta / Flat Black Films—Snack and Drink
Honorary Mentions Computer Animation Jun Asakawa / Toshifumi Kawahara / Polygon Pictures—Polygon Family Erwin Charrier / Heure Exquise—Un Temps Pour Elle Paul Kaiser / Shelley Eshkar / Bill T. Jones—Ghostcatching Christopher Landreth / Alias|Wavefront—Bingo William Le Henanff—Ultima Forsan Patrice Mugnier / Heure Exquise—En Dérive Didi Offenhuber / AEC FutureLab—Bike Bruce Pukema / Ronin Inc.—Ronin Romance Classics Daniel Robichaud / Digital Domain—Tightrope Christian Sawade-Meyer—Stationen Seiji Shiota / Tohru Patrick Awa / Polygon Pictures—The FlyBand! Lev Yilmaz / Emre Yilmaz / Protozoa—Bad Night
Golden Nica / Visual Effects Vincent Ward / Stephen Simon / Barnet Bain / Mass.illusions / POP /Digital Domain—What Dreams May Come
Distinctions / Visual Effects CFC—Computer Film Company—Guiness ”Surfer” Alain Escalle—A Viagem
Honorary Mentions / Visual Effects Manuel Horrillo Fernandez / Daiquiri / Spainbox—Alaris ”Aliens” Fuel—Peter Miles / Damon Murray / Stephen Sorrell—Original Copies Ray Giarratana / Digital Domain—Photoreal Digital Cars: Metal Desert & Metal City Geoffrey Guiot / Bruno Lardé / Jerôme Maillot / Heure Exquise—No Way Juan Tomicic Muller / Daiquiri/Spainbox—Lottery ”Fantasy” Phil Tippett / Craig Hayes / Tippett Studio—Virus
DIGITAL MUSICS
Golden Nica Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) / Chris Cunningham—Come To Daddy
Distinctions Mego: Christian Fennesz / Peter Rehberg aka Pita—hotel paral.le. / Seven Tons For Free Ikue Mori—Birthday
Honorary Mentions Stefan Betke—CD 2 Paul DeMarinis—Fireflies Alight on the Abacus of Al-Farabi II Rose Dodd / Stephen Connolly—Kinderspel John Duncan / Francisco López—NAV Bernhard Günter—the ant moves / the black & yellow carcass / a little closer Richard Hawtin aka Plastikman—Consumed MAZK / Zbigniew Karkowski / Masami Akita—Metabolic Speed Perception Mouse on Mars—Autoditacker Terre Thaemlitz—Superbonus [The User] / local area network orchestra—Symphony for Dot Matrix Printers Tone Rec / Gaëtan Collet / Noëlle Collet / Claude Pailliot / Vincent Thierion—Ten Ralf L. Wehowsky (RLW)—Tulpas
CYBERGENERATION—U19
Golden Nica (conspirat).
Distinctions Alexander Fischl / Gregor Koschicek—Von Ignoranten, Betriebsystemen und Atomraketen Phil E. Haindl—Safer Reality
Honorary Mentions Franz Berger—Webpage der HTL Braunau Sebastian Endt—Schweineherde Simon Gaßner—Matura-CD der 8a und 8c Alexander Kvasnicka—Good Morning Stefanie Mitter—Clown Takuya Nimmerrichter—Unser Tag Simon Oberhammer—Projekt Leben Benedikt Schalk—Mia topo Markus Strahlhofer—Area 51—Back to the Surface Patrick Toifl—The Tortoise and the Rabbit Stefan Trischler—Scream Armin Weihbold—SOS—Simple Security Online
Selected works of the Prix Ars Electronica are being presented in the Cyberarts 99 exhibition at the O.K Centrum für Gegenwartskunst. You will find a detailed description of the projects in the Prix Ars Electronica book
Cyberarts 99 International Compendium Prix Ars Electronica (H. Leopoldseder / C. Schöpf, eds.) Springer Wien – New York 1999
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