Here’s a close-up look at the technical and aesthetic state of the art. The CyberArts 2015 exhibition is one of the highlights of the Ars Electronica Festival: a showcase of outstanding works singled out for recognition by the 2015 Prix Ars Electronica.
In the category Computer Animation / Film / VFX
Temps Mort/ Idle Times
Alex Verhaest (BE)
(Golden Nica)
Alex Verhaest’s (BE) works are visual explorations and investigations of the nature and boundaries of language, communication and social conventions and the potential of contemporary storytelling. Her highly pictorial work operates by the juxtaposition of painting, video and contemporary technology.
Alex Verhaest (BE)
(Golden Nica)
Alex Verhaest’s (BE) works are visual explorations and investigations of the nature and boundaries of language, communication and social conventions and the potential of contemporary storytelling. Her highly pictorial work operates by the juxtaposition of painting, video and contemporary technology.
Augmented Hand Series
Golan Levin (US), Kyle McDonald (US), Chris Sugrue (US)
(Honorary Mention)
The Augmented Hand Series is a real-time interactive software system that presents playful, dreamlike, and uncanny transformations of its visitors’ hands.
Golan Levin (US), Kyle McDonald (US), Chris Sugrue (US)
(Honorary Mention)
The Augmented Hand Series is a real-time interactive software system that presents playful, dreamlike, and uncanny transformations of its visitors’ hands.
In the category Hybrid Art
Plantas Autofotosintéticas
Gilberto Esparza (MX)
(Golden Nica)
This symbiotic system re-imagines the management of sewage in order to salvage its potential as a source of energy.
Gilberto Esparza (MX)
(Golden Nica)
This symbiotic system re-imagines the management of sewage in order to salvage its potential as a source of energy.
ARTSAT1:Invader
ARTSAT: Art and Satellite Project (JP)
(Award of Distinction)
On February 28, 2014 , the world’s first art satellite, ARTSAT1:Invader was launched as a piggyback payload on the H-IIA F23 launch vehicle, and inserted into a non-sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 378 km and inclination of 65 degrees. Invader, a 10 cm cube 1U-CubeSat with a mass of 1.85 kg continued its steady operation on orbit, successfully performs an array of artistic missions by commands from the main ground station at Tama Art University.
ARTSAT: Art and Satellite Project (JP)
(Award of Distinction)
On February 28, 2014 , the world’s first art satellite, ARTSAT1:Invader was launched as a piggyback payload on the H-IIA F23 launch vehicle, and inserted into a non-sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 378 km and inclination of 65 degrees. Invader, a 10 cm cube 1U-CubeSat with a mass of 1.85 kg continued its steady operation on orbit, successfully performs an array of artistic missions by commands from the main ground station at Tama Art University.
Teacup Tools
Agnes Meyer-Brandis (DE)
(Award of Distinction)
Teacup Tools is an array of cybernetic teacups, adapting themselves to the realm of climate-related sciences. The work appears as a multifunctional tool for the investigation of micro clouds above tea, for communication and for tea drinking.
Agnes Meyer-Brandis (DE)
(Award of Distinction)
Teacup Tools is an array of cybernetic teacups, adapting themselves to the realm of climate-related sciences. The work appears as a multifunctional tool for the investigation of micro clouds above tea, for communication and for tea drinking.
Drosophila titanus
Andy Gracie (UK)
(Honorary Mention)
Drosophila titanus is an ongoing and long-term project which through a process of experimentation and artificial selection aims to breed a species of the fruit fly, drosophila, that would theoretically be capable of living on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
Andy Gracie (UK)
(Honorary Mention)
Drosophila titanus is an ongoing and long-term project which through a process of experimentation and artificial selection aims to breed a species of the fruit fly, drosophila, that would theoretically be capable of living on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
Hare´s Blood +
Klaus Spiess (AT), Lucie Strecker (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Klaus Spiess (AT) and Lucie Strecker (DE) salvage DNA in order to compose mnemonic devices that diversify cultural memory. In their projects DNA stemming from biological relics of knowing animals which have been key figures in relevant scenarios within the arts, sciences, philosophy and genetics, i.e. the DNA from Beuys’ hare, Freud’s Chow-Chow, Derrida’s cat, as well as from a laboratory worm.
Klaus Spiess (AT), Lucie Strecker (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Klaus Spiess (AT) and Lucie Strecker (DE) salvage DNA in order to compose mnemonic devices that diversify cultural memory. In their projects DNA stemming from biological relics of knowing animals which have been key figures in relevant scenarios within the arts, sciences, philosophy and genetics, i.e. the DNA from Beuys’ hare, Freud’s Chow-Chow, Derrida’s cat, as well as from a laboratory worm.
Mirage
Ralf Baecker (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Mirage is a projection apparatus that makes uses of principles from optics and artificial neural network research. *Mirage* generates a synthesized landscape based on its perception through a fluxgate magnetometer (Förster Sonde).
Ralf Baecker (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Mirage is a projection apparatus that makes uses of principles from optics and artificial neural network research. *Mirage* generates a synthesized landscape based on its perception through a fluxgate magnetometer (Förster Sonde).
Myconnect
Saša Spačal (SI), Mirjan Švagelj (SI), Anil Podgornik (SI)
(Honorary Mention)
Myconnect is an interspecies connector that emerged as an aspiration to enable human beings to transgress their own species and connect with another at a perceptive and physiological level. By entering the installation one joins with the otherness, another multiplicity i.e. the fungal mycelium.
Saša Spačal (SI), Mirjan Švagelj (SI), Anil Podgornik (SI)
(Honorary Mention)
Myconnect is an interspecies connector that emerged as an aspiration to enable human beings to transgress their own species and connect with another at a perceptive and physiological level. By entering the installation one joins with the otherness, another multiplicity i.e. the fungal mycelium.
PSX Consultancy
Pei-Ying Lin (TW), Špela Petrič (SI), Dimitrios Stamatis (GR), Jasmina Weiss (SI)
(Honorary Mention)
The PSX Consultancy project conceives augmentations for vegetal species to enhance the given client’s natural reproductive processes. In other words, it make sex toys for plants.
Pei-Ying Lin (TW), Špela Petrič (SI), Dimitrios Stamatis (GR), Jasmina Weiss (SI)
(Honorary Mention)
The PSX Consultancy project conceives augmentations for vegetal species to enhance the given client’s natural reproductive processes. In other words, it make sex toys for plants.
ReBioGeneSys – Origins of Life
Adam W. Brown (US), Robert Root-Bernstein (US)
(Honorary Mention)
A hybrid installation (process) that combines sculpture, chemistry, alchemy and conservation to create autonomous extreme minimal ecosystems capable of autopoetic evolution.
Adam W. Brown (US), Robert Root-Bernstein (US)
(Honorary Mention)
A hybrid installation (process) that combines sculpture, chemistry, alchemy and conservation to create autonomous extreme minimal ecosystems capable of autopoetic evolution.
Satelliten
Quadrature (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Accessing information about the positions and paths of satellites through a database maintained by the US Air Force, the drawing machine Satelliten keeps a record of the sheer number of satellite flyovers in regard to its own location. In a square of approximately 10 sq. cm, the machine traces their lines in real time until the distant object leaves our horizon again. Satelliten uses its own position coordinates as a starting point and old paper maps of the area as a base for its drawings.
Quadrature (DE)
(Honorary Mention)
Accessing information about the positions and paths of satellites through a database maintained by the US Air Force, the drawing machine Satelliten keeps a record of the sheer number of satellite flyovers in regard to its own location. In a square of approximately 10 sq. cm, the machine traces their lines in real time until the distant object leaves our horizon again. Satelliten uses its own position coordinates as a starting point and old paper maps of the area as a base for its drawings.
Stranger Visions
Heather Dewey-Hagborg (US)
(Honorary Mention)
In Stranger Visions Heather Dewey-Hagborg (US) creates portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material collected in public spaces.
Heather Dewey-Hagborg (US)
(Honorary Mention)
In Stranger Visions Heather Dewey-Hagborg (US) creates portrait sculptures from analyses of genetic material collected in public spaces.
Welt-Klimakonferenz
Rimini Protokoll (Haug, Kaegi, Wetzel/DE)
(Honorary Mention)
In this theatrical re-enactment of one of the most important formats of contemporary political and scientific discourse, the 650 audience members were invited to represent the 196 delegations of the original “conferences of the parties.”
Rimini Protokoll (Haug, Kaegi, Wetzel/DE)
(Honorary Mention)
In this theatrical re-enactment of one of the most important formats of contemporary political and scientific discourse, the 650 audience members were invited to represent the 196 delegations of the original “conferences of the parties.”
In the category Digital Musics & Sound Art
Chijikinkutsu
Nelo Akamatsu (JP)
(Golden Nica)
Chijikinkutsu is a coinage especially created for the title of this work by combining two Japanese words: “chijiki” (= geomagnetism) and “suikinkutsu” (= a sound installation for Japanese traditional gardens). *Chijikinkutsu* is made using water, sewing needles, glass tumblers and coils of copper wire.
Nelo Akamatsu (JP)
(Golden Nica)
Chijikinkutsu is a coinage especially created for the title of this work by combining two Japanese words: “chijiki” (= geomagnetism) and “suikinkutsu” (= a sound installation for Japanese traditional gardens). *Chijikinkutsu* is made using water, sewing needles, glass tumblers and coils of copper wire.
Drumming is an Elastic Concept.
Staged solo concert for percussion and electronics
Josef Klammer (AT)
(Award of Distinction)
Instead of the usual plastic drumheads, Josef Klammer (AT) uses latex skins for percussion in this piece. As a result, the drumbeats were slowed down and stretched, until only the “breathing” of the drum was audible.
Staged solo concert for percussion and electronics
Josef Klammer (AT)
(Award of Distinction)
Instead of the usual plastic drumheads, Josef Klammer (AT) uses latex skins for percussion in this piece. As a result, the drumbeats were slowed down and stretched, until only the “breathing” of the drum was audible.
::vtol:: oil
Dmitry Morozov (RU)
(Honorary Mention)
The installation consists of five hydraulic presses, capable of crushing practically any object (a mobile phone, a pair of glasses, headphones or whatever). In the process of destruction, a special microphone records the sounds made as the object undergoes deformation, and a computer algorithm transforms them into a 20-minute album.
Dmitry Morozov (RU)
(Honorary Mention)
The installation consists of five hydraulic presses, capable of crushing practically any object (a mobile phone, a pair of glasses, headphones or whatever). In the process of destruction, a special microphone records the sounds made as the object undergoes deformation, and a computer algorithm transforms them into a 20-minute album.
UNDER WAY
Douglas Henderson (US)
(Award of Distinction)
UNDER WAY metaphorically transposes the building which houses it into a ship at sea, and sets those who encounter it free on a voyage to uncharted shores.
Douglas Henderson (US)
(Award of Distinction)
UNDER WAY metaphorically transposes the building which houses it into a ship at sea, and sets those who encounter it free on a voyage to uncharted shores.
Electromechanical Modular
Gijs Gieskes (NL)
(Honorary Mention)
A mechanical sequencer was the first instrument that industrial designer Gijs Gieskes (NL) came up with in the late 1990s. Now, he’s applied technical insights and experience gained in the meantime to reconfigure it.
Gijs Gieskes (NL)
(Honorary Mention)
A mechanical sequencer was the first instrument that industrial designer Gijs Gieskes (NL) came up with in the late 1990s. Now, he’s applied technical insights and experience gained in the meantime to reconfigure it.
Rawr! A Study in Sonic Skulls
Courtney Brown (US), Sharif Razzaque (US)
(Honorary Mention)
This work is an interactive sound installation and musical instrument based on imagining the sounds of a lambeosaurine hadrosaur, duck-billed dinosaurs known for their large head crests, which researchers hypothesize were resonators for vocal calls.
Courtney Brown (US), Sharif Razzaque (US)
(Honorary Mention)
This work is an interactive sound installation and musical instrument based on imagining the sounds of a lambeosaurine hadrosaur, duck-billed dinosaurs known for their large head crests, which researchers hypothesize were resonators for vocal calls.
Tipping Point
Kathy Hinde (UK)
(Honorary Mention)
Tipping Point invites us to consider our relationship with water and the need to balance how we use the world’s water resources. The installation is created using a delicate combination of glass, water, audio feedback and lighting.
Kathy Hinde (UK)
(Honorary Mention)
Tipping Point invites us to consider our relationship with water and the need to balance how we use the world’s water resources. The installation is created using a delicate combination of glass, water, audio feedback and lighting.
Soft Revolvers garnered an Honorary Mention for Myriam Bleau (CA) in the Digital Musics & Sound Art category. It’s on the program lined up for OK Night
In the category Visionary Pioneers of Media Art
Jeffrey Shaw (AU/HK)
(Golden Nica)
Jeffrey Shaw (AU/HK) is recognized as one of the most important pioneers of interactive art. He has powerfully influenced the creation of virtual environments and new innovative user interfaces. Shaw’s work spans a period of half a century and still continues to do so.
(Golden Nica)
Jeffrey Shaw (AU/HK) is recognized as one of the most important pioneers of interactive art. He has powerfully influenced the creation of virtual environments and new innovative user interfaces. Shaw’s work spans a period of half a century and still continues to do so.
In the category u19 – CREATE YOUR WORLD
Inside & Between
Gabriel Radwan (AT)
(Golden Nica)
Among the projects Gabriel Radwan (AT) completed as a student at Linz’s High School for Artistic Design is a stop-motion film inspired by Roger Waters’ compositions for The Wall. His film features a soundtrack he composed and engineered himself. As in the Pink Floyd album that was its inspiration, the film’s protagonist, an obsessed painter, immerses himself ever deeper into a world of his own making.
Gabriel Radwan (AT)
(Golden Nica)
Among the projects Gabriel Radwan (AT) completed as a student at Linz’s High School for Artistic Design is a stop-motion film inspired by Roger Waters’ compositions for The Wall. His film features a soundtrack he composed and engineered himself. As in the Pink Floyd album that was its inspiration, the film’s protagonist, an obsessed painter, immerses himself ever deeper into a world of his own making.
In the category [the next idea] voestalpine art and technology grant
SOYA C(O)U(L)TURE
XXLab (ID): Irene Agrivina Widyaningrum, Asa Rahmana, Ratna Djuwita, Eka Jayani Ayuningtias, Atinna Rizqiana
SOYA C(O)U(L)TURE is a research-based product development by XXLab. The research aim is to grow and program an alternative energy, food and bio material from liquid soya waste using bacteria and tissue culture.
XXLab (ID): Irene Agrivina Widyaningrum, Asa Rahmana, Ratna Djuwita, Eka Jayani Ayuningtias, Atinna Rizqiana
SOYA C(O)U(L)TURE is a research-based product development by XXLab. The research aim is to grow and program an alternative energy, food and bio material from liquid soya waste using bacteria and tissue culture.
Ars Electronica Blog
“This year’s Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica recipients are all outstanding. Above all, the grand prize winner in the Hybrid Art category, Plantas Autofotosintéticas by Gilberto Esparza, is an excellent work because it’s a socio-politically relevant project and one that applies art to real life.” Read more on the Ars Electronica Blog!