Elektra 96
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The installation sense:less was presented at electra '96. Sense:less provided a public access point to enter the body of the future. It also became a focal point for the local discussion about the "art" in electronic art, a question the traditionally informed audience brought with them to this exhibition. And, sense:less provided a unique physical interface, a real way into a future composed of computer generated images and virtual access to information. A subtle detail of the work involved data collected from the server that routed all the exhibition's Internet access, which was represented in the visual landscape of the work, not as legible information, but as a reminder that there is a continuous barrage of information flow, in forms like microwaves and radio waves, thorughout the atmosphere we inhabit.
The body of the future, I think, will adapt to the strong schizophrenic-like fabric of cyberspace, and to an understanding of the "I" as a multiple self with multiple perceptive bodies.
Stahl Stenslie
Despite numerous technical and theoretical difficulties, sense:less, and the other well known interactive works shown at electra '96, continued to attract museum visitors, who were willing to experience and participate. The inclusion of discussions, symposia and lectures throughout the exhibition gave additional access to specialized critical theory, and artistic points of view, necessary in todays environment of artistic change and rapid growth. Some of the questions that remained unanswered, and were troublesome from the first public discussion, center around the problems associated with institutionalized art, corporate sponsorship as research and development, and the consideration of the viewer in the design of the interactive interface. It is likely that these questions will remain unanswered - at least not satisfactorialy answered - for some time. The logistical and political problems to obtain access to fast, advanced computer workstations, and the power of the sponsor should never be underestimated. Maintaining credibility as an artist in the commercial pressure cooker of sponsorship requires a deep undestanding of the process, and a commitment to exploit every opportunity to achieve results:the art.
If the Norwegian art coummunity will accept the challenge to include new technology in its definition of art, then electra 96 will have accomplished a major achievement, one that brings a wired nation into touch with the international surge of creative interpretation of net works and gallery space.
elektra 96....breathing fresh Norwegian air into cyberspace...
Sitting above picturesque fjords, still frozen solid in the last weeks of winter, the Henie-Onstad Kunstcenter emitted an eerie glow. The entry hall hummed with electronic undertones at the March 2 opening of electra 96, billed as the first major exhibition of electronic art in Norway. Works by the most important international media artists were assembled at the HOK, which demonstrated that the future had arrived in Norway and created a public platform for a serious dialogue about art, theory and new technology. After months of organizational uncertainty, revised plans and a late start - electra 96 transformed a local committee concept about new technology and art into a blockbuster show and event series, with a record -breaking attendance that exceeded all predictions. But, the show was not without it's serious technical problems. It also lacked a clear curatorial focus, which resulted in a festival-like environment that pleased the public and annoyed the contemporary art critics. In reality, elektra 96 was a relatively risk-free undertaking in the international perspective, but it required serious promotion in Norway.
HOK, which proudly displays the Sonja Henie trophy collection, is a place where families combine their enjoyment of nature with art, especially on weekends. A 1980's style culture center, it is tucked quietly between the sea and the forest, adjacent to a large parking lot. Connected to Oslo by a highway, a major traffic jam during the opening weekend of Electra 96 was blamed on large crowds heading towards the exhibition. This highway ultimately carried more than 42,000 visitors to the Kunstcenter, and the visitors packed the show despite the necessity to queue up for interactive installations, Internet connectivity, at the CD ROM workstations, and for performance events until the closing date on April 14.
The project electra 96 was originally designed as a kind of grand overview of visual and performance art created with electronic means. The solution to the inclusion of many media specific topics was a dozen or so small exhibitions -- or subject modules -- under the same roof, with artists grouped by genre. The range of electra topics covered the following disciplines - interactive "future art", performance, video, photography, sound, installation, architecture, symposia, and the Internet. These various divisions were intended to demonstrate the multiple directions and far ranging possibilities for artists to work with computers, electronics, and multi-media technology. During the opening, the normally conservative Norwegian public demonstrated great interest in and curiosity about the interactive installation works and the live events.
My negative reaction to elektra 96 was the division of the works into so many sub-genres, resulting in confusion about what belonged to what, and the little ghettos, i.e. a dark room of video installation, next to a generous well lit gallery with architectural and sound works, side by side. The strategy for this aspect of the exhibition, one that was probably intended to sort out the works and ideas into smaller *user friendly-groups* and to present the audience with a number of parallel strategies for the use of media, was nowhere clearly articulated. Therefore, this conceptually interesting way to organize a large number of works in an exhibition resulted in a vagueness between the artists pieces, and created an uneven visual presentation. Hopefully this aspect will be corrected with a good catalogue of the issues explored. Electra 96 was most successful with its collection of interactive media stars who are the current headliners in the European festival circuit. The group selected for Elecktra Kunst represented the most impressive projects in the past years, and brought what is considered groundbreaking in the interactive genre around the world. When seen together in a small gallery space, amidst the other sub-categories, this group of works were visually overpowering and crowded together.
Musing about the public's expectations and hopes, and in anticipation of the opening symposium, I tried to observe and anticipate how they might really feel about art and the future. I was especially interesting to see if they were threatened by the relationship of this new art with art of the recent past. The public and private opinions became clearer during the opening weekend, at the Electra Kunst Symposium. This day long event provided an opportunity for the artists and audience to interact on a number of quite important issues where not only the works in this section of the exhibition were discussed, but the relationship of the artists to the fields of commercialism, institutional strategies and the art world in general were presented. In a mysterious land which seemed to me to be secluded and internal, the origins of the Norwegian soul could be felt somewhere between the exchange of ideas, information and mutual fantasies.
The opening symposium on Monday, March 4, was attended by the participating Electra Kunst artists (except for Bill Seaman). Divided into two groups, the first discussion was called Technological Humans - Cyborgs, Knowbots, Artificial life and Science as Art, and included presentations by Ulrike Gabriel (D) Christian Huebler (D), Joachim Sauter (D), Christa Sommer (Austria/Japan) and Stahl Stenslie (NO/D).
The afternoon panel of artists was described as Human Technology - Poetry, Narrative and Technology as Magic. It included native English speakers David Blair (USA/Japan), Perry Hoberman (USA), Kate Pendry (UK/NO), Knut Mork (USA/NO), and Stacey Speigel (CA). Our symposium dialogue was sharply divided between the European concerns of structure, institutional liaison, and interface, and the more politically acute English speakers (British/American/Canadian) who were concerned about their audience, personal expression, and clear political cultural reference. These goals were definitely expressed. These differences were quite substantial, and also pointed out the basic differences between the Euro-centric goal of technical substance as the highest purpose of media, and the more liberal and ethical position of the North Americans.
An extremely polite discourse, the artists were most concerned with a presentation of their own work ethic. They answered the public's questions, on topics that ranged from the predictable "why is this art?" to "why do the Germans continually come off as fascistic - even in the new media...?" The problem with these kinds of discussions --and as the moderator I was acutely aware of the difficulties-- are multiple. However, in this context, I could see that the public had great difficulty to consider as art the same formats that they can purchase for their entertainment systems. On the other hand, the artists still have not become fluent in the language of critical discourse - beyond their own specific interests. Often equated with theoretical platforms, the artists in the Elektra 96 selection were not noted for their theoretical writing, but for their practice. Additionally, electronic art work is still at the boundary of research, and the theoretical discourse has raced way ahead of the practical possibilities, creating a virtual vacuum of reality discourse.
Unfortunately for Norway, there are few Norwegian artists or theoreticians dealing with new media. The most important is Stahl Stenslie, who leads the pack in the discourse of the body in Cyberspace. But, in order to accomplish this work, he must spend his creative life in Germany. It has paid off, because the Norwegian public was overwhelmed with enthusiasm over the single interactive work by Norwegian artists, which was also a commissioned project for electra 96. sense-less, by Cortex was a project collaboration between Stahl Stenslie, Maurius Watz (also one of the curators of the exhibition), Kate Pendry, and Knut Mork. Working together especially for this exhibition, they provided an individual/group interaction rare in today's media scene. Stahl Stenslie, clearly the projects visual and interactive visionary, provided the personal interface for the public, a body harness that enabled them to get immediate physical response, a step towards feeling what possibilities lay ahead in the future. It was also possible for the artists to get direct feedback from the audience, and their overwhelming interest in this stunning and visual installation was both exhausting and full of surprises. sense:less was --hands down-- the most sensational interactive work in the exhibition, and thousands were able to experience personally what VR might mean, by standing within the soft shell of its milky, translucent membrane.