an installation for swarms of midges on the banks of lakes and other bodies of water
Swarm attractor at the border of river traun, Linz, Ars electronica Cyberarts 2006
the idea
double helix swing is an installation which investigates the swarms of midges that can be found on the banks of lakes and other bodies of water. Swarms of midges are intriguing entities: without any apparent logic theyform at irregular intervals along the bank: towers of midges flying in circles – although it seems that their flight path is in fact angular. It is as though they fly in one direction, then they suddenly stop and fly off in another. Each swarm develops its own speed and rhythm. And each swarm formsitself into an axis which is circled by the midges in both directions: a flying double-helix. The swarms are made up of male midges aiming to attract females for mating.Attraction and courtshipoccurs by wing beat which differs between the male and female insects. Based on these characteristics a video and sound installation is to be developed.
In order to observethe swarms they will be attracted by sounds of the female wing beat. Various sound sources (loud speakers) will be distributed at intervals in shallow water. At a suitable distance from the sound source a video camera will be located on the bank to record any swarms which may form. The camera is set up on a platform which can be accessed from the bank.Passers-by can approach thecamera and look for the swarms in the viewfinder. If a camera detects a formation it then remains still, a video image is recorded and is sent to a central computer.
screen prints of the indoor installation:
“double helix swing”, interactive instalallationinstallation view at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Cologne, October 2006:Installation at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum Cologne
a series of loudspeakers were placed on a platform situated over shallow water to emit the sounds of the beating of a female mosquitos wings. A video camera, located at a certain distance from the source of the loudspeakers, records images of the swarms that are produced. These images are sent to a computer that analyses the movements and visualises them on the screen in the form of traces.
Outdoor setting with swarm attractor, louspeakers and camera
The camera ist build to be used by passers-by, they can locate possible swarms by adjusting the camera (turning, zooming etc.).
The loudspeakers around the camera emit the sounds of various insects’ wing beats. Using the switch, passers-by can try attracting insects using the wing beat sounds of the females of different species.
the software
The virtual world consists of three layers:
the video of the midges, which runs in the background.
the tracks of the midges, which are signified as nutrition (these are green tracks).
the virtual creatures searching for and eating the tracks of the midges
The creatures, survival depends primarily on the video, coming from the outdoor camera. The form of the tracks generates a structure which serves as “food” to a number of virtual creatures. These virtual creatures are capable of evolving, so adapting better and better to the tracks generated by the movements of the real mosquitoes. The behaviour of the virtual creatures depends, therefore, on the real environment, but is also conditioned internally by a virtual “genetic code” of programming and behaviour. This code can in turn be manipulated by the user of the installation.
The intake of nutrition is regulated by a buffer, which stores all the food (that is the tracks) of the midges. The creatures have a variable food search radius. This radius depends on the velocity of the creatures. If they move fast, the search radius doesn’t have to be so big as when they are more or less immobile. The creatures never eat all the food at once. As they eat only a certain percentage of the food found, they are able to remember where nutrition is located. The amount of food depends on the number of things moving on the video, coming from the camera. Using the sound, a feedback loop is produced: if there is too much food on the screen, the sound from the loudspeakers is muted or just changed, so that the midges are no longer attracted.
The creatures develop different forms. Every animal has a virtual gene, which defines its movement and its form. The form comprises the number of legs, the density of cells and the density of branches per node. In the beginning there are three different types of creatures, but later on visitors can define new ones. If a creatures is replicated, a random operation defines whether the animal will be changed or not. Then, another random operation partially changes the animal’s code. While the creature is young, it will only have a few cells. But as it grows, it follows the form which is predefined in the gene. It grows until a certain, adjustable energy level is reached. Then it gives birth to several new creatures.
If the creature becomes big, it is possible that the cells will pull in different directions. Then the creature breaks in two. Both parts survive, one of them with the original code, the other with the new small form gene.
The installation can be shown as an indoor installation with or without the camera. The camera can be shown outdoor during summer closed to rivers or lakes. But it can also be shown indoor. Then, a virtual world is shown on the screen in which the visitors can search for swarms of midges.
For the installation without the camera you need:
1 Linux-PC 3,2 GHz, 1 GB Ram, 3D-accelerated graphic card, soundcard (has to be shiped)
The ‘Zeitraum’ Installation is the most recent “inoutside”-installation in the series of video tracking installations for public spaces.
One perceives a virtual sculpture space-envelope come into being and vanish. This everchanging sculpture is controlled by the occurrences on Grabbeplatz. Like a naturally grown architecture this form is embedded into the contours of the immediate environment of the current location of the viewer. The positions of the people on Grabbeplatz as well as the position of the viewer of the picture are marked with red crosses. Connecting lines point from marked people approximately onto the place of the space-envelope where the people influence the generated form. The installation is made up of nightly projections onto the fountain wall in the passageway of K20. On the roof of the art collection two infrared emitters and an infrared camera are installed. The emitters make up for the missing daylight, so that the camera may pick up the motions on the site. The regular light is an important prerequisite to be able to deduct the motions of the people. This is done by a video tracking program. It is determined where on the site movement takes place by comparing the current video image with a previously taken image of the empty site. The results are then sorted by “blobs”. “Blob” signifies a “Binary Large Object” and denotes a field of non-structured coordinates which moves equably. These animated data-fields are passed on to a graphic- and sound program that calculates the virtual sculpture from the abstracted traces. In this the motion traces are interpreted. As in earlier installations such as “memory space” (2002), “trace pattern II” (1998) or “inoutside I” (1998) and “inoutside II” (1999), the supplied video image is visible on the basis of a video texture so that the people who see this image may recognize themselves in the virtual image. So it becomes clear how the virtual forms, the clouds and arrows are calculated.
The installation deals with architectural and city-planning concepts. A new, different design technique should be attempted, that is aimed at observing the behaviour of people towards architecture. The goal is to depict the city or architecture as a dynamic organism. To show city and people as something collective, something in constant transformation, is what the installation wishes to convey. top
interface/surveillance
The system, the way we used it in the six “inoutside”-installations does not allow for humans to be apprehended in their individuality. It is not about recognizing what makes up each person per surveillance system (for this we humans are still better at than machines), but about perceiving the quality specific to the site and to test it on humans and human behaviour. It’s about the cognition of behavioural patterns, but not about a description of the individual. Moreover the site should be individualized to ascertain its character. top
data processing
With the recording of traces it is so, that the means of computation that is being done in the installation aims to characterise the site, whereby the collecting of the different individual traces becomes essential. The early installations such as “trace pattern II” (1998) are obviously geared towards the interaction amongst the people. The behaviour of the people is recorded, amplified and interpreted: Do they walk close to one another? Are they walking away from each other? Are there “Tracks” – several people walking in step? These observations become part of the interpretation. In the current installation in K20 the space is represented in form of one or multiple bodies. These bodies have entrances and exits, openings and closures, they are being bundled from small units or melt into a large whole or divide. They swell or make holes that enlarge until the bodies dissolve. All these spatial elements are determined by the behaviour of the people. We also map the traces of the visitors of the site according to their different walking-pace and according to their frequency of presence on site onto a mathematical shape-the Isosurface that changes according to behaviour.
The neural network, here the Kohonen map learns through self-organization. This is a method of learning based on the neighbourhood relations of neurons amongst each other. A network is constructed which depicts that which is on the site. Beyond this the classical SOM is modified in order to solve the problem, which is created when the monitored space is a limited area. For at the edge different conditions for calculation apply than in the middle, because the condition of a site is also rooted in its neighbourhood. In the simulation of physical processes one defines the monitored area simply as a torus or a sphere, whereby that, which for example disappears on the right image border, re-appears on the left. This doesn’t make sense for a real site however, which is why we modified the procedure: in the regions with too great an impulse density we let the neurons descend into a second plane that disperses the neurons onto the nearest places that lack neurons. Through this we created a compact cyclical energy evaluation that prevents that only a cluster of the SOM would stay in the middle of the space (see graphics). This would be nothing other than too high of an information density that could provide no information whatsoever (almost a black “data hole”). For me as an artist the application of neural networks in very exciting, because they demand of me that I restrain my artistic and visual desires for the sake of processes which happen with the help of this camera eye – in reality not by the camera but by the people that are the focus of the camera, so by the image of the site. Since the computer-internal data processing apparatus imitates the human perception apparatus, it demands of me that I be concerned about the limits of perception and the possibilities and impossibilities of projection of knowledge.
the isosurface
Isosurface in action
As already mentioned the Grabbeplatz is being reproduced in a virtual image through video texture. It marks the area recorded by the tracking-program, over which the calculations generate an abstract space. The nodes of the SOM form trajectories in this space, nurtured by impulses that refer to speed, direction and length of stay of the passers-by. So the level tracking plane is expanded by another dimension. To visualize the relationships of the nodes not only as points in the room but also in relation to one another, we let an imagined potential energy function reign in the surrounding of every which node. This function is represented as a surface in space. This follows the path of every node and adapts its shape to its current role in the SOM. Such surfaces are called Isosurfaces. They are used to represent the homogeneity of energy states (here: potential energy states) within a continuum. All points of this surface represent an equivocal condition. The potential energy functions- one for each node- overlap or avoid another, amplify or cancel each other out. This event visualizes surfaces which comparable to soapy skin melt into or drip off each other or lose themselves in infinitely minute units. In the arithmetic sum of all the individual potentials lies the key to these surfaces. All points in the room are determined whose potential energy function reach a certain numerical value (decided upon by us). The entirety of these countless points (and thereby the virtual sculpture-shape) appears as a smooth or rugged, porous or compact shape whose constantly moving surface proffers a new way of seeing the development of the SOM. In relation to Grabbeplatz the SOM represents the time-space distortion of the site when it is not seen as a continuous space-shape but as a sum of single “Weltenlinien” (world-lines) of the passers-by, so of the paths of the individual people that cross each other here by chance. The SOM also dissolves time, because paths meet that were temporally offset. In this way the SOM is a memory of personal times that give the Grabbeplatz its individual shape. The ISO-surfaces have the function to discern the areas that are much used and walked upon from those that are scarcely used. Bulges mark the frequent presence of people, holes their absence. The dynamism of the ISO-surfaces follows the dynamism of the accumulation of humans, who, when f. ex. they reach a certain density, fall over and dissolve in turn, to avoid too great of a density. top
The Sound
The sound is a sort of “monitoring” that references the current position of people on the site and that references this position calculated into a long-term organism. Both are graphically represented as positions in the fields which is a visual memory form in a virtual image. The sound will also relate to the current position; a change of position of the viewer consequently changes the sound. When one walks something else is audible on the site than when no one there. On the other hand the sound- and this is the actual quality of noise- transmits information about that, which takes place on the site. And through language it should carry out a categorization. top
architectural context
Architecture as we know it can’t meet the needs of its users, because it is made of properties, of immobile, modern, maybe 70- or 100-year-old buildings. A flexible building is not imaginable yet. But the lifetimes of buildings are diminishing, if one looks at the results of conferences such as “shrinking cities” the trend is towards planning houses that are construct- and de-constructible, that are transferable and flexible in their functions. This is not only my demand, but also the city planner’s. My approach is to get away from the forms of buildings that set statutes as in the past sculptors have done; but that are thought of as a body, in the way that I experience myself; as a sign, that is aesthetically pleasing to me. Of course the new buildings to be designed have to integrate functionally in the devised use zoning plan. But these buildings should observe their surrounding during their use, to determine if they are fulfilling their purpose. The question arises how such a concept could be formulated if it is not only developed based on the idea of one person or a committee of experts, but if it would be submitted to the evaluation by the public. It is not new to claim that architecture has changed with the introduction of the computer, because the methods of design changed with tools or CAD-programs, etc. “Blob architecture” denotes a young architecture that designs more than builds. Most of the time biomorphous building-forms develop in 3D programs. Forms are developed through for example the observation of environmental factors, that become manifest. In this respect one could see the installation at Grabbeplatz as a representative of this form of architecture. The goal of my projects however is not to merely find a different form of buildings, which in turn will only become static monuments, but to test interactive structures , to see which perceptible traces create sensible structures for buildings. “Blob architecture” will have to prove itself by the meaningfulness of the data exploration to be carried out on the blobs. These methods of processing imply a view of humanity that will possibly be the basis of the future architecture.
In the next project of the “inoutside” series the return to real space will be targeted. Today a return to static form and to the sculptural would be too early because we haven’t advanced far enough with the evaluation of the interaction to know what to build, especially as long as the building materials aren’t flexible yet. Also more complex interfaces are necessary that could evaluate a greater spectrum of perceptible human expressions. In the virtual today one is much more flexible and less damaging as long as one leaves it at not building yet and checking the results in the visual and acoustic through users. One can cross over to the formation of real space when architecture is as changeable as the interactive system requires.
Anhand eines Diskussionsforums will es zwischenmenschlichen Austausch zur Basis eines dynamischen, virtuell/architektonischen Raumkonstrukts machen mit veränderlichen Innen- und Außenräumen.
Installation
w-ort.net ist ein sich dynamisch entwickelndes Gebilde im Internet, das sich aus Texten ernährt, welche Benutzer eingeben. “Ursuppe” des Organismus sind die Texte der Künstler von “hell-gruen” zu ihren Arbeiten.
Beschreibungen von Kunstwerken entstehen, grenzen eine individuelle Aussage ab von einem räumlichen Kontext, gegenüber denen sich in ihrer Nähe befindlichen Kunstwerken. W-ort.net setzt gedankliche Topologien um in eine virtuelle 3D-Topologie.
W-ort filtert aus den eingegebenen Texten signifikante Stichwörter.
Diese Wörter finden einen Ort im 3D-Raum, ziehen Besucher in ihren Bann, wachsen mit jeder Behandlung, die ihnen widerfährt. Sie bilden Konnektionen aus zu ihrer Umgebung: zu anderen geometrischen Objekten, die wie sie selbst Repräsentation von Wortfeldern sind, die sich phonetisch gruppiern aufgrund ihrer hörbaren ähnlichkeit. So werden aus gedanklichen Positionen von Künstlern Orte lautmalerischer Begrifflichkeit.
W-OErter, welche durch Austauschen von Buchstaben Klang und Bedeutung ständig wechseln, laden ein zum freien Assoziieren. Die Distanzen, die durch “Definitionen” von Persönlichkeit und Werk geschaffen werden, lösen sich hier wieder auf zugunsten eines Gedankengebildes, das seine Bedeutung aus der formalen Struktur des Forums gewinnen will. Topologische Formen bilden Innen- und Aussenrääume, welche die Kommunikationsstruktur der site reprÄsentieren und virtuell erlebbar machen.
Gleichzeitig können Sie unter kleinen Würfelobjekten, die die Stichwörter umgeben, Internetlinks zu verwandten Themen im web recherchieren.
The installation “memory of space” links local and geographical dimensions.
It is a cybernetic installation using real time video input and tracking data from video footage. It produced a representation of a public place showing the history of the traces of passengers.
Memory of space is one stage within the framework of the inoutsite project that depicts space in its temporal alterations and explores how individual experiences of „space“ generate the social construct of city. To what extent is the experience of a public space conditioned by me and my (unique) memory – to what degree is it determed by the conventions that result from social intercourse with others and from architectonic/geographic factors? In this case, an large, much-frequented square is monitored by a central camera. The video signals are passed on to two computers which edit the material. The first computer screens an image resulting from an analysis of the movements of people crossing, meeting and/or lingering on the square. Based on the collected movement data of the previous few hours, the second computer calculates an image describing the qualities of the place. The installation „memory of space“ links local and geographical dimensions.
screen print of the software
An aerial view underlying the virtual scene enables an examination of the virtual picture with regard to its potential relationship to large-scale axes. At the base of the virtual picture is a grid-like system of coordinates which, via a self-organizing map (a simple, self-orgaizing neuronal network), is distorted according to the actual usage of the place. At the same time walking speed and direction are applied to the coordinates, pushing them along their direction of travel. A video-texture comprising the video image of the tracked place is mapped onto the coordinate system offering the viewer references to the real place. As a result of this investigation, the monitored place can be divided into „territories“: areas of rest and walking lanes. These lanes are inscribed as a „network of corridors“ (grey lines) onto the distorted (by the movements) reproduction of the square. The remaining spaces – the places where peoples showed a tendancy to dwell (walking speed = 0) – were marked red.
Based on an anonymous, nationwide competition, “Überflug” and a sound installation by Rolf Julius were proposed for being realized on the campus of the Brandenburg University of Cottbus.
The Artwork
Pigeon lofts are to be installed for the departmental gardens on campus, to the left of the main axis. In the middle of these pigeon lofts, a virtual fountain is to be installed, in which a video can be seen instead of water. This fountain is the spatial and mental center of the work. In it, the trajectories of the pigeons are recorded and made visible over longer time intervals. The structure of these trajectories is intended to show a model image of the coexistence of the animals and offers the opportunity to compare our behavior with them.
The Loft
In consultation with a pigeon fanciers’ association located in Cottbus, I designed a two-story tower suitable for racing pigeon breeding. The presence of pigeon fanciers is to combine university life and research with the experience of folk traditions. Unlike the city pigeon, breeding pigeons are highly civilized. The whole effort of the breeder is devoted to the health and fitness of his pigeons, with the aim of achieving good flight results. To encourage the pigeons to return home quickly, they are separated from each other – young married (widowhood). The drive to quickly return to the female not only makes pigeons fly thousands of kilometers unerringly, but sometimes leads to life-threatening states of exhaustion. The way pigeon breeders deal with these characteristics speaks of long experience and contrasts the abstract thinking of the natural sciences.To give insight into the dynamics of the pigeon loft, these are glazed on two sides. In addition, the breeding and flight results of the pigeons in races are to be made public on a bulletin board. The trajectories of the flights are shown on a map.
First draft for the pigeon loft:
Interior design of the loft:
Model of the dovecot
The fountain
In consultation with a pigeon fanciers’ association located in Cottbus, I designed a two-story tower suitable for racing pigeon breeding. The presence of pigeon fanciers is to combine university life and research with the experience of folk traditions. Unlike the city pigeon, breeding pigeons are highly civilized. The whole effort of the breeder is devoted to the health and fitness of his pigeons, with the aim of achieving good flight results. To encourage the pigeons to return home quickly, they are separated from each other – young married (widowhood). The drive to quickly return to the female not only makes pigeons fly thousands of kilometers unerringly, but sometimes leads to life-threatening states of exhaustion. The way pigeon breeders deal with these characteristics speaks of long experience and contrasts the abstract thinking of the natural sciences.To give insight into the dynamics of the pigeon loft, these are glazed on two sides. In addition, the breeding and flight results of the pigeons in races are to be made public on a bulletin board. The trajectories of the races are shown on a map.
A special computer software (already available) calculates the positions of the pigeons from the image and writes their trajectories into the video image in real time. Over the day a line drawing is created from the traces of the pigeons, which with its (chaotic) structure questions the surrounding architecture according to its order (rectangular) for its compatibility with the geometry of the natural movement of the birds. The birds, which are not fixed in their directions of movement by paths, benches or buildings, refer here to a freedom beyond the structures given on the site. At the same time, the work should stimulate us to question our planning and systems of order and – depending on the possibility of cooperation with the university – propose a model for spatial order from data obtained through observation. What takes place above the pigeon lofts reports not only random trajectories, but also swarm behavior and the group dynamics of the pigeon lofts. It is worth noting here the comparison between the almost mysterious order of flocks of birds and the frequent collisions of people in massed gatherings. Ultimately, the work with the dove takes up a symbol (dove of peace) found in numerous older murals on campus. While there the dove is understood as a metaphor, it now becomes the object of consideration in its concrete function. top
The grounds of the BTU represent a staged living and working space for students and staff. The microchip grid of pathways and building layout speaks of meaningful order and purposefulness. The garden area offers relaxation in this landscape and also provides the departments with the opportunity for individual design. Nature as a counterpart, but also an object of technology is to be made increasingly tangible here. Adding animals to the plants is one idea. While the trees emphasize the rootedness in the earth, the birds connect with the sky. It would also have been possible to observe the movement of people and translate it into a virtual landscape. However, the environment of the site is so defining that the movements would only be seen in response to buildings or created attractors (benches). Observing the pigeons gives visitors a view of social group structures, whereby swarm behavior and population behavior take up a highly topical subject in computer science (reference microchip) and could be the starting point for a problem definition of a collaboration. Thus, an architecture could be developed from the traces by adaptive algorithms, which translates the territorial behavior of the birds into spatial constructs. These spatial systems could become the occasion for further planning on the campus site. (The software to track the trajectories already exists as well as the implementation as a graphical interface. It would be desirable to do further work on the software in the sense described above with the BTU FB Mathematics or Computer Science).
After 1989 a series of drawings of geometric patterns, to be considered as mathematical descriptions of space, evolved out of earlier sculptural works. Space became declined in its proportional rhythms of finite and infinite dimensions and recursions. The pattern drawings which developed are a canon of shapes intended as the foundation for large-scale urban planning.The polymorphism of the patterns enables individual elements to be inserted into already existing proportions, generating a calculated description of the “new” from the already existing “old”. The result of these calculations was a set of basic geometric forms with a long-range effect forming the basis of the first interactive installation “trace pattern”. In this installation patterns are automatically calculated and linked to the movement of people walking in a particular space.The resulting proportions can be examined “virtually”.
For “inoutsite” (see also http://www.inoutsite.de) a tracking-software was developed specifically for the surveillance of public spaces (programm authors:Thomas Kulessa and Matthias Weber). This experience with the machine processing of traces of movement brought about a gradual shift in the main focus of the work – from the construction of descriptive models to the observation of movements. In the installation of the “inoutsite” project the frequency of visits to the site under surveillance was analysed and then translated into image and sound.The resulting virtual three-dimensional shapes can be considered as the first virtual architecture.
Inoutsite I und II zeigen die Statistik der Raumnutzung.
screen print with schematic spacial setting
The red arrrows point in the direction of walking, the lines are the traces of people in the space. The height of the net, which hovers like a virtual roof over the observation area, shows the frequency with which a place is walked.The more people stand at a place, the lower the net sinks. The cloud in the center shows the same information as the net, differentiated by intensity levels. Sounds act as a “monitor” of visitor movement: low tones represent edge positions.
Videoausspielung 1990
Sculpting the clouds (a Text by Katja Davar)
Ursula Damm navigates spaces. As long as I have known her this has been her main occupation in one form or another. I recall her gait at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf that I watched from a distance and even then it struck me that the person coming towards me was somehow navigating the space of that long, endless corridor in a different and definitely less earth-bound way than many. Looking at her artwork over the past years, the spatial aspect has always dominated in some form and her ability to turn what could almost be termed a scientific research project into something visually exciting is for me the core of the work. Assuming that Ursula Damm could just as easily have found her way into pure science, the respect that her work commands is one quite different to the subjectivity often associated with an artistic production. From her sculptural roots that moved into a virtual space, to dynamic architectural arenas and the visualisation of human movement – if one were to analyse the movement through the work as one that is physical, perhaps one could say that the camera perspective (angle) has constantly increased until, as in the most recent works, one has a bird’s eye view of her production. Ursula Damm’s interest in the interior and exterior, i.e. programming and interface, or re/search and re/sult, or even local and global leads me to believe that she is in a strange way attempting to leave a particular state of being in order to discover another. Could this be the age-old desire to fly? To view the world at an angle known only to birds and the wind? Increasingly the works have a real oddness about them, they defy categorisation, which naturally makes them troublesome, as the viewer has to weave an individual vocabulary in order to assess them. Ursula Damm embraces a multi-tiered approach not only through the utilisation of images formed partly through technology, but also through the usage of waste-products – possibly the stuff from which science is made – and lastly her passion for the interactive about which we have argued many a time! The complex reflection on an analogy between space, time, the human and flight all find expression in the work of Ursula Damm, perhaps the question is not when will the clouds be sculpted but from whom.
Im Vorraum ist eine Kamera installiert, welche Besucher aufnimmt. Sie können sich auf einer Videowand sehen, Töne erzeugen und mit den Geometrien spielen, die ihre Bewegungen interpretieren. Pfeile geben die Gehrichtung an, der Durchmesser der Kreise wächst mit der Gehgeschwindigkeit, das hellgrüne Polygon umfaßt Personengruppen, das türkisfarbene Polygon beschreibt den Zwischenraum zwischen zwei Personen, die “Bleistiftlinien” zeichnen die Wege der letzten Minuten.
Trace Pattern Ausspielung
Blick ins Congresszentrum des Multimediaforums in der Messe Köln
lInstallation im Multimedia Forum Köln 1997
Hardware: Tracking System auf Windows Computer, Grafik auf Silicon Graphics
Die Installation besteht aus einer Computeranimation auf der Basis eines 3-D Scans meines Körpers.
Eine Kamera fährt langsam um diesen Scan, um oben und unten das leere Innere der Hülle preiszugeben.
Hier wird thematisiert, wie der Computer eine so gänzlich verschiedene Struktur des Objektaufbaus hat als die Natur. Während Fleisch und Blut unsere Haut und ihre Erscheinung bedingen, liefert der Computer nur eine leere Hülle. Die sinnliche Nähe, die für Sekunden erzeugt wird, kippt während der Kamerafahrt um in Ernüchterung über das fehlende Innere.
Installation mit Motor, Feuer, Zeitung, Projektion
“Die Liebesgabe” wurde produziert anläßlich der Ausstellung “Territoires occupes – Kunst-Konversion” 1995 des Frac Metz/Frankreich, kuratiert von Beatrice Josse. Ursprünglich geplant für die Vauban Festung in Bitche, Frankreich, wurde die Installation in Montmedy gezeigt.
Die Idee, über die kollektive Rache an Frauen zu arbeiten, kam mir durch Erzählungen meines Vaters. Er erinnerte sich an junge, deutsche Männer, welche deutsche Frauen entführten, die sich auf die Soldaten des Gegners einliessen, um ihnen die Haare zu scheeren. Bei den Recherchen über diese Form der Strafe fand ich sehr viele Berichte aus Frankreich, wo genauso wie in Deutschland diese Handlungen aus der Besatzungszeit tabuisiert werden.
Die Arbeit besteht aus einer Maschine, welche von mir gedruckte Zeitungen verbrennt. Auf diesen Zeitungen ist die Geschichte des Haareschneidens als Strafe dokumentiert – von der Edda über mittelalterliche Quellen bis hin zu einem Bericht meines Vaters. Die Besucher können während des Betriebs der Maschine die Zeitungen lesen und erleben, wie sich kurz vor der Schale mit dem Feuer ein Bild auf der Zeitung konkretisiert (eine Frau, die sich durch die Haare fährt), um dann die Vernichtung der Geschichten im Feuer zu erleben.
Der Titel “die Liebesgabe” erinnert an die Geschenke, welche Soldaten gemacht wurden, die an die Front gingen. Die Arbeit wurde ausgestellt in einer Vauban-Festung in Nordfrankreich anlässlich einer Ausstellung über Frauen in den Besatzungsgebieten. Diese Arbeit soll verstanden werden als hommage an Frauen, welche in Zeiten den Kriegs die Fronten missachten.
Quellen
Thors hausfrau ist Sif, die haarschöne göttin, die mit goldener lockenfülle prangt, wie das feld im schmuck der goldenen kornähren. Ihr goldhaar ist ein werk der zwerge. Loki hatte einst tückischer weise der Sif ihr haupthaar abgeschnitten. Thor wollte ihm alle knochen zerschlagen, aber Loki versprach den schaden zu ersetzen. Er fuhr zu den zwergen, Ivaldis söhnen, und diese verfertigten für Sif einen neuen goldenen haarschmuck, der wie anderes haar wuchs.
aus: “Die Edda”, Altnordische Mythologie S. 58, Hrg. von Hermann Lüning, Zürich 1859
Als Sommergöttin deutet man gewöhnlich Sif, die Gattin des Donnergottes. …Sifs schönes, langes Haar schnitt Loki [Gott des Feuers] ab, und die Zwerge mußten ihr deshalb ein neues goldenes fertigen. Man sieht darin das Getreide, das beim Reifen als ein anderes erscheint wie im grünen Halm, bezogen … auf das Gelben des grünen Pflanzenschmuckes überhaupt. Glaublicher scheint mir, dass Sif hier als Gewittergöttin gedacht ist. Die Blitze werden ihrem Haar verglichen, das ein feindlicher Gott ihr im Gewitter raubt, worauf die blitzschmiedenden Zwerge ihr ein neues fertigen müssen(4). (4) Mannhardt Mythenforschungen S. 85 sah in dem Abschneiden des Haars der Sif den Versuch Lokis, die Sonnenstrahlen zu verbergen.
aus: Die deutschen Frauen in dem Mittelalter, Bd. I, S. 33 von Karl Weinhold, Wien 1882
Es geschah hernach, er verliebte sich in ein Weib im Bachtal Sforek,ihr Name war Dlila.Die Tyrannen der Philister fuhren zu ihr hinauf und sprachen zu ihr: Betöre ihn und ersieh,wodurch seine Kraft so groß ist wodurch wir ihn übermögen, daß wir ihn binden können, ihn niederzubeugen, und dir wollen wir selber geben, jedermann tausend und hundert Silberstücke …er sprach zu ihr: Ein Messer ist über mein Haupt nicht gefahren, denn ein Geweihter Gottes bin ich vom Mutterleibe an: würde ich geschoren, meine Kraft wiche von mir, schwach würde ich, gleich würde ich allem Menschenvolk. … Sie schläferte ihn auf ihren Knien ein, … und ließ die sieben Strähnen seines Hauptes abscheren: sie begann seine überwältigung, seine Kraft wich von ihm.
aus: Altes Testament, Richter 16,4ff, übersetzt v. Martin Buber
