| Venues: | Podewil |
|---|---|
| Date: | 09.02 â 19.02.1995 |
| Organisation: | Mediopolis Berlin e.V. |
Video: fascinating as ever.
The 8. VideoFest proved again that it has maintained its creative approach towards developments within the media landscape. This year's central endeavour was to find out how new forms of electronic communication and art could be integrated into the festival. Presenting video alone did not suffice. By now, MULTIMEDIA, for many people, had become an enigmatic and mysterious term. The VideoFest offered a welcome opportunity to inform a broad audience and gathered experts and artists for an in-depth discourse at the same time.
festival preface
A new VideoFest - again there have been quite a few changes. We see beyond the end of our own noses and explore in detail what the new magic word MULTIMEDIA stands for in the realm of CD-ROM and INTERNET artworks. There will be performances, discussions, an exhibition, workshops, and more than 20 experts from six countries. Guest curator for this event: computer artist Simon Biggs (GB).
More space will be given to a discourse on video culture: current topics will be discussed at the VideoSalon at 16:00 everyday. Since these discussions are restricted to a small number of experts, please refer to the counter at the Podewil for further information. The Video Salon will host two public sessions: on Feb. 18, the program team of the VideoFest will put this year's festival up for discussion; on Feb. 19, experiences and products generated through the Multimedia workshops will be discussed. In addition, it is our aim to push the public discussion of selected videos in our series SPOT under the heading of VideoKritik. Plus: as a follow-up of several main programs, we offer you the opportunity to talk to the authors present; details will be given during the presentations.
The high standard of the Main Program and the Nightflight series could easily be maintained: we had the choice among 958 independently submitted videos (an increase of more than 100 compared to last year's participation) from 38 countries. Eighteen countries will be represented in our program. We especially welcome the increasing number of unusual documentations and the return of the political angle in works of art as well as in documentations. Additional emphasis of this year's program is on the following features: for the first time, the VideoFest will have a film projector in operation. Zbigniew Rybzcynski migrated from New York to Berlin in order to develop a project that will break new grounds in the realm of digital picture manipulation. Elis career is symptomatic of the development of IMAGES: Film - Video - EIDTV - Digitalized Pictures. The artist (who will be present) and a selection of his works will form the prelude to our Multimedia focal point. The two presentations in conjunction with the Centre de Recherche Pierre Schaeffer de Montbéliard-Belfort (F, formerly CICV) under the direction of Pierre Bongiovanni will be the first step towards connecting the work of this institution with the VideoFest. The CICV increasingly stresses development in a digital/ multimedia direction as well.
Klemens Golf (D) likewise considers turning to multimedia. We present installations and tapes of this largely ignored artist and give you the opportunity to enter into discussions with him. Of course, we also display video installations. Since the Galerie am Pariser Platz is not at our disposal this time, all installations are located at the Podewil. We exhibit 13 works by eight artists, representing six countries: Buckley (GB), Etiel(ll), Golf(D), Hooykas (NL) / Stansfield (GB), Lohner (D/USA), Martinis (KRO), and Welzel (D). A change on the staff-side of the VideoFest that deserves mentioning is that Rudolf Frieling joined the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karlsruhe. Ele had been in charge of the program of the VideoFest since 1989. Elis work, especially in the areas of installations, PR, and sponsoring, contributed immensely to the success of the VideoFest, and we regret his departure very much. Elis successor in the area of installations is Axel Bohse of the Hannover-based Foro Artistico. Bea Wölfling, who joined our program team last year, is now responsible for the PR work, and Johannes Lenz-Hawliczek added sponsoring to his duties as executive director.
This last responsibility had been Hartmut Horsts domain. He has build up the VideoFest since its beginnings in a visionary way and admirably managed often difficult financial situations. He now devotes himself to new challenges.
Responsible for the festival organization is our new colleague Cordula Rinsche. Thanks also to the rest of the VideoFest team and all the others who work on this project.
Thus: winds of change - and hopefully a refreshing program. Video: fascinating as ever. Again we hope to offer our visitors the mixture that already stood the test: entertainment, things worth contemplating, and a healthy amount of irritation. Pictures - unlike TV and unlike the movies. Against the grain.
Micky Kwella
The programme of the VideoFestâ95 reimagined television guides and divided itself between the main programme and special programme together with the Focus, Nightflight, Spot, and VideoKritik sections; the Multimedia & Exhibition programmes introduced in an integrated manner and within a creative and critical context developments in interactive Multimedia production. It is intended for those interested in the creative application of computers and related technologies, whether as artists, producers, distributors, curators, critics, or consumers.
The VideoFest â95 saw beyond the tip of its nose and explored in detail what the new magic word Multimedia stood for in the realm of CD-ROM and Internet artworks. There were performances, discussions, workshops and an exhibition. The festival catalogue includes information of all events and artworks of the VideoFest '95.
In a series of short interviews, all shot in front of a blue screen at the 1995 festival, a group of festival participants were invited to answer a series of questions about the emerging discipline of âmultimediaâ art, then meaning mostly works made for CD-Rom or early Internet-based work.
team
Jörg Rothe Business Manager, Micky Kwella Festival Artistic Director, Johannes Lenz-Hawliczek Business Manager, Knut Gerwers, Micky Kwella, Susanna Mende, Bea Wölfling Program, Simon Biggs Guest Curator Multimedia, Axel Bohse Video Installations, Bea Wölfling Press, Cordula Rinsche Assistant to the Director/Festival Realisation, Ellen Bickmeier, Martina Sommer Office, Klaus Meier EDP, Matthias Behrens, Hannes Ickert, Josef Plank Technical Support, Armin Haase, Thomas Kaulmann, Mike Biron Festival-EDP, Martina Sommer, Kerstin Rautenberg Counter, Raimund Schlie Coordination Podewil, Andreas KeĂler Technical Support Podewil, Jens-Peter Steinert VideoFest-Trailer
supporters and sponsors
Apple, Art+Com, AuswĂ€rtiges Amt, Avid Technology GmbH Potsdam, Deutsche Telekom, Dipl. Ing. Christian Uebel Messebau-lnnenausbau Berlin, Espace VidĂ©o EuropĂ©en, Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH i.G., Goethe-Institut, GVT Berlin, Internationale Stadt e.V. Berlin, Kindl BrĂ€u, M.A.X. Computer Systeme GmbH, Mediopolis Berlin e.V., Botschaft des Königreichs der Niederlande, Nokia, OnlinePark Berlin, PIK Berlin, Pixelpark Berlin, Podewil, Radio Fritz, Senatsverwaltung fĂŒr kulturelle Angelegenheiten Berlin, Sony, timeline Berlin, VIDEOVox, VTTV