Horst Hörtner talking about Pixelspaces 2011
When you consider the Futurelab’s wide-ranging activities and endeavors these days, all you can say is: “Hats off!” This division of Ars Electronica was actually set up pursuant to business considerations as an in-house R&D lab responsible for developing the Center’s exhibits. After all, purchasing ready-made content eventually adds up to quite a bit of money in comparison to developing custom-tailored installations right here in Linz. And so it was. It was probably not part of the original plan that the Futurelab would ultimately do much more than “just” work for the Museum of the Future, but if you actually pay a call on this lab-atelier and get a feel for the enthusiasm with which the staff goes about its work, the unavoidable conclusion is that this step was definitely the smart thing to do. In the words of Horst Hörtner, media artist and head of this division ever since its inception in 1996: “What Ars Electronica is for me? Curiosity. It’s the Alma Mater of curiosity.”
Horst Hörtner is checking out a preview of the CERN-Exhibition-Layout. The exhibition is starting at August 4th 2011 in the Ars Electronica Center. Click on the picture to find the Flickr-Set of Pixelspaces 2011
Over the years, the Futurelab has been singled out for recognition with prizes and awards for lots of stuff staffers have come up with. They’re especially proud of the World Summit Award 2005 for “Gulliver’s World,” an interactive world designer that garnered rave reviews from critics at such prestigious media outlets as the BBC.
The Futurelab’s Pixelspaces series premiered in 2001 and was a big hit right from the start. Technical give-and-take and fascinating shoptalk bring top names at the nexus of art and technology to Linz, and 2011 will be no exception. Details about this year’s lineup are available here (link to program). The video features a few words from the boss himself, explaining just what is about to be thematically addressed, surgically dissected, brilliantly illuminated and possibly reassembled in an unexpected, innovative way.
