ART+COM

ART+COM ART+COM was a Berlin-based collective and company founded in 1988 focused on experimental media art, interactive installation art, and computational design, operating at the intersection of visual arts, architecture, engineering, computer science, and urban planning. The group produced landmark projects and collaborated with institutions such as the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, Tate Modern, and the Museum of Modern Art while engaging with audiences through public installations, museum commissions, and corporate commissions from entities like Siemens, BMW, and Sony.

History

Founded in West Berlin in 1988 by a multidisciplinary team that included designers, programmers, artists, and architects, the organization emerged amid the cultural shifts surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany. Early collaborators came from institutions including the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee, Universität der Künste Berlin, and technical partners such as the Fraunhofer Society and the Max Planck Society. Over decades the collective worked alongside curators from the British Council, directors from the Neue Nationalgalerie, and technologists from MIT Media Lab and Stanford University. The studio’s trajectory intersected with events like the Documenta exhibitions and biennials such as the Venice Biennale, contributing to debates involving figures from the Institute of Contemporary Arts and think tanks across Europe and the United States.

Notable Works and Projects

The studio’s portfolio includes interactive pieces and civic installations that engaged with themes found in collections at the British Museum, Louvre, and Smithsonian Institution. Prominent projects involved collaborations with curators from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and designers from Pentagram and IDEO. Works were often discussed in relation to historic media artworks by practitioners linked to the Wiener Aktionismus, Fluxus, and artists represented by Gagosian Gallery and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. The collective produced installations for venues such as the Bundeskanzleramt, Olympiastadion Berlin, Pergamonmuseum, and public squares like Alexanderplatz. Commissions included interpretive displays for the German Historical Museum, immersive pieces for the Nationalmuseum Stockholm, and kinetic systems for corporate clients including Deutsche Bank.

Technology and Methods

Technologies employed combined real-time computer graphics with sensor networks and bespoke software, drawing on developments from the SIGGRAPH community, research at Bell Labs, and algorithms influenced by work from John Conway and computational geometry studies originating at ETH Zurich. Methods integrated hardware from manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Intel and software paradigms influenced by projects from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University and research groups at Carnegie Mellon University. The team developed custom middleware, projection mapping techniques akin to practices at Obscura Digital, and interactive frameworks comparable to systems used by TeamLab and Random International. Projects often required collaboration with lighting specialists familiar with standards from the International Electrotechnical Commission and acousticians who had worked with institutions such as the Royal Albert Hall.

Organizational Structure and Collaborations

Structured as a hybrid of an artist collective and a design firm, the organization included visual artists, interaction designers, software engineers, sound designers, and project managers who had previously worked at institutions such as ZKM, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Columbia University, and Royal College of Art. Collaborative partners ranged from cultural institutions like the British Museum and Tate Modern to corporates such as Siemens and BMW. The studio engaged producers and curators affiliated with the European Cultural Foundation, consultants with experience at McKinsey & Company, and legal advisers familiar with intellectual-property regimes in the European Union and United States. Funding and patronage involved arts councils including the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Arts Council England, and project grants from foundations like the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Exhibitions and Public Impact

Exhibitions of work appeared at venues such as the Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo, Kunsthalle Wien, and the Biennale di Venezia. Public installations in urban contexts generated discussion in publications and forums associated with the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, critics from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Guardian, and scholars publishing through Routledge and MIT Press. The group’s interventions in public space intersected with policy debates involving municipal authorities in Berlin, urban planners from the Royal Town Planning Institute, and cultural strategists from organizations such as Creative Europe.

Category:New media art Category:German contemporary art