Ars Electronica 2009: “Human Nature” in Linz, Austria (review)

Ars Electronica, the annual “Festival for Art, Technology and Society,” took place for the 30th time 3–9 September 2009, in Linz, Austria. The years since my review of the 2005 festival in these pages ( www.computermusicjournal.org/reviews/30-2/shintani-ae.html ) have been characterized by incremental developments as far as technology is concerned; but the events with the greatest ramifications have been the global financial and ecological crises. What differences from 2005 would be in evidence in 2009? Every epoch elicits a greater or lesser reaction from its artists, and this year’s artistic reactions in Linz were as dire as the global situation. But 2009 was also Ars Electronica’s 30th anniversary, and Linz enjoyed the distinction of being a European Cultural Capital as well. These occasions for celebration combined with the global hangover made Ars Electronica 2009 a curious mix of events that at times left us at a loss for words.

The festival’s theme this year was “Human Nature,” presented by festival directors Gerfried Stocker and Christine Schöpf in the program booklet: “We are entering a new age here on earth: the Anthropocene. An age definitively characterized by humankind’s massive and irreversible influence on our home planet. Population explosion, climate change, the poisoning of the environment, and venturing into outer space have been the most striking symbols of this development so far” ( www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=55661199917 ). As they go on to point out, genetic engineering and biotechnology are prime indicators of the transition into this new epoch. Humankind has barely begun to grasp how human life is created, yet it is already modifying entire genomes, cloning, creating, and inventing new life.

As in past years, the festival was spread over many venues, from the concert hall and museums of the ever-expanding art mile along the banks of the Danube (Brucknerhaus Concert Hall and park, Lentos Museum, new Ars Electronica Quarter) to the streets and other galleries scattered throughout the city (the complete program is available at www.aec.at/humannature/en/program-overview ), although outlying locations involving transport, such as the 2006 visit to the St. Florian Monastery were not on this year’s docket (a few clips of the 2006 festival including the St. Florian visit can be viewed at shintanis.blogspot.com/2006 09 01 archive.html). In keeping with the theme of Linz as European Capital of Culture, sites within the confines of the city limits (easily accessible on foot) were highlighted—and “high” lighted they were, indeed! The six-story, 5,100 m² LED facade of the newly expanded Ars Electronica Center ( aec.at/center_exhibitions_en.php ; www.treusch.at/project.php ) was “played” nightly thanks to the combined efforts of invited sound and light artists; and the show Höhenrausch (high-altitude euphoria), constructed over the rooftops of several Linz edifices (church, museum, etc.), exploited the 360° view of the city and Danube valley as backdrop for commissioned sound and visual sculptures aimed at orienting Linz in a larger geographical and cultural setting. Among works exhibited were such disparate elements as a vast scrap-metal installation on the floor of an attic (Serge Spitzer), an herbal roof garden (Mali Wu), an ingenious “shower of sounds” (Paul DeMarinis), and a Ferris wheel (Maider López), to name some of the more spectacular ( www.ok-centrum.at/english/ausstellungen/hoehenrausch/index.html ). These vertiginous events were surely planned long in advance of the current global crises, and their heady heights made the fall back to earth all the more graphic, metaphorically speaking. The festival opened with a blackout of Linz aimed at permitting star gazing (Starry, Starry Night), but rain on opening night dampened rather than ignited spirits.

As every year, Ars Electronica featured lectures and seminars, this year on the topics cloud intelligence, sound-image relations in art, the future of retail (!), archiving media art, wearable computers, education in the 21st century, etc. The keynote lectures on the topic “Human Nature...