Structural Patterns

tesla, a great space in the Berlin mitte, right across from Alexander Platz, is dedicated to the production and exhibition of new works encompassing installation, performance, sound and radio works.

Artists are given studio residencies and plenty of support to produce new works. As the directors of tesla, carsten seiffarth, detlev cutters, and andreas broeckmann, describe the art center:

“tesla is of Berlin laboratory for media arts; for the investigation of the relationship between art and science, old and new, analog and digital media; for open and process oriented artistic and technological research; for the dialogue with current form artistic practice; for the development of co-operation and networks” –

Currently tesla is in collaboration with the festival sonambiente Berlin2006 in presenting new audio and visual works and giving sonambiente artists, like myself a studio for production. Here are a few images taken at last Wednesday’s opening at tesla:

réactions épidermiques by lynn pook + julien clauss

Participants lay in these hammocks that have various points of stimulation – at the hands, feet, heart and ears sound and some sort of mechanical devices embedded in pillows titillate and relax the participant.

pneumatic sound field by edwin van der heide

Embedded in a large steel grid that is permanently part of tesla’s courtyard is Edwin Van der Heide’s sound installation. The sound is created from air shot through valves. The valves are mechanized and digitally controlled to play compositions. At first the compressed air instrument is relaxing, but over time becomes abrasive as one stands below or near the pneumatic sound field.

The wooden knob to the right is for the volume and red and green buttons are on/off – simple and elegant.

In the main lobby near the entrance of tesla is a work by graphic design students of the

Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig. The students listened to electronic music compositions, by artists produced by the record label of Carsten Nicolai and then created visualizations of the audio. One may listen to the composition and study the visual designs by the students.

the public broadcast cart, miranda zungia

I have been given a studio at tesla, however my project, the Public Broadcast Cart is located at the Art Academy in the Paris Plaza, across from the giant soccer ball. The audio recorded when the cart is out and about will be edited and re-broadcast via the tesla radio – 1:1, 95.2FM Berlin.

On tesla’s second floor, in a dance/meeting hall space is the installation “fades” by carsten nicolai. Unfortunately it’s a very dark installation that is difficult to visually document. Light, smoke and sound come together to create the installation, as light projects through the smoke onto a large black screen to accompany a surround sound composition.