© 2020 – 2022. 2chairs artspace
Hi Stephan, thanks for coming! To start, please briefly introduce yourself.
I am a visual artist in Berlin, a co-organizer of a local project space for art and sustainability, and I am active in various music projects. I have been happy to participate in events at the ZKM Karlsruhe, film festivals like the IKFF Hamburg, and numerous international exhibitions.
What makes you a 2chairs artist? What are your “chairs”?
The two chairs that have accompanied me for a long time are, quite simply, mathematics and art. I have a university education in both areas. However, my inclination is more towards art, where I can realize my visions more.
Does mathematics in a broad sense play a significant role in your artistic practice? Do you have any specific influences in mind?
My insights into mathematical science do influence my artistic work. However, mathematical content is not reproduced one-to-one; rather, certain philosophical structure principles of mathematics shine through, such as symmetries, statistical thinking, concentration, formal consistency or the aesthetics of ideas. I try to make all of these essential attributes of mathematics effective in my artistic work.
Please give us more details regarding the process. How do you build your artistic practice? What are your drivers?
For example, I am interested in the relationship between two and three dimensions. Optical illusions benefit from the fact that different three-dimensional situations can be congruent on the plane when projected into an image but can be traced back to different spatial objects. This can be used to create ambivalent images, images that can be interpreted in different ways, which show how much meaning is constructed through perception and mental processing. I have made use of these optical illusions in a series of minimalist collages that appear uniform on the plane but contain contradictory, heterogeneous spatial arrangements, and thus sensitise the viewer to the connection between seeing and thinking and draw attention to perception itself. I also use the principle of multiple perspectives in typographic works - in symmetrical typograms and corresponding installations that allow different reading directions and thus consciously address ambivalences in content. In general, I am motivated by the complexity of phenomena. The diversity of life. And the hurdles between opinions, to name them and to overcome them playfully with the means of art.
I am a visual artist in Berlin, a co-organizer of a local project space for art and sustainability, and I am active in various music projects. I have been happy to participate in events at the ZKM Karlsruhe, film festivals like the IKFF Hamburg, and numerous international exhibitions.
What makes you a 2chairs artist? What are your “chairs”?
The two chairs that have accompanied me for a long time are, quite simply, mathematics and art. I have a university education in both areas. However, my inclination is more towards art, where I can realize my visions more.
Does mathematics in a broad sense play a significant role in your artistic practice? Do you have any specific influences in mind?
My insights into mathematical science do influence my artistic work. However, mathematical content is not reproduced one-to-one; rather, certain philosophical structure principles of mathematics shine through, such as symmetries, statistical thinking, concentration, formal consistency or the aesthetics of ideas. I try to make all of these essential attributes of mathematics effective in my artistic work.
Please give us more details regarding the process. How do you build your artistic practice? What are your drivers?
For example, I am interested in the relationship between two and three dimensions. Optical illusions benefit from the fact that different three-dimensional situations can be congruent on the plane when projected into an image but can be traced back to different spatial objects. This can be used to create ambivalent images, images that can be interpreted in different ways, which show how much meaning is constructed through perception and mental processing. I have made use of these optical illusions in a series of minimalist collages that appear uniform on the plane but contain contradictory, heterogeneous spatial arrangements, and thus sensitise the viewer to the connection between seeing and thinking and draw attention to perception itself. I also use the principle of multiple perspectives in typographic works - in symmetrical typograms and corresponding installations that allow different reading directions and thus consciously address ambivalences in content. In general, I am motivated by the complexity of phenomena. The diversity of life. And the hurdles between opinions, to name them and to overcome them playfully with the means of art.
photo of the artist taken by
Frédérique Lanquetin at her studio desk
Frédérique Lanquetin at her studio desk
Can you describe your artistic approach in five keywords with a brief explanation of each?
So first of all, beauty. That is the aesthetically pleasing composition. Be it image compositions, musical ones or pieces of poetic language. Secondly, dynamics. That may be the dynamics of a music video or the alternation of spontaneous and meticulous phases in the creation of works. Long, careful reflection can encourage a design that can then sometimes be implemented in the blink of an eye. Thirdly, intellectual independence. That means, even if important content accompanies me in my artistic work, such as the question of sustainability, which I pursue with colleagues in the Group Global 3000 project space, I never want an artistic work to be reduced to a content-based statement. The superior artistic expression is found not least through coincidences. Departing from fragments of (contemporary) history, in the best case the work accumulates a completely individual character during the process. Fourthly, youthfulness. Because I, like many artists, developed a penchant for the profession as a young person and I don't want to forget or suppress the emotions of that phase of my life, but rather use them as a driving force. And if you don't pursue extreme sports or other extravagances, you can find excellent means to do so in art and culture - a kind of elixir of life. And fifthly, humour developed from the complexity, which reflects the contradictions of freedom and necessity, and relates youthful defiance and a sort of detached philosophy of life.
You present the exhibition at 2chairs titled “The Parting of the Ways”. What idea is behind the installation? Please say a few words about a location.
The installation "The Parting of the Ways" refers to a milestone in the history of technology - in this case also of civilization as a whole: that at this address in 1941, as a memorial plaque there states, Konrad Zuse presumably developed and presented the world's first functional computer. As a result, people's private lives and the organization of society changed in a fundamental way, and this at an increasing pace to the point of the escalation of digital developments that we are currently experiencing. My installation consists of a small number of floor grid elements that are connected by a click system, square plates that have the appearance of pixels and thus form a highly reduced, minimalist font: the two letters i and f, i.e. the word “if”, which has an important
function in programming languages to structure decision trees. “If” alludes, on the one hand, to programming languages as a cybernetic reality, to the way computers work, but on the other hand, also to the historical course of their development as such. If introducing personal computers into the life of people, technological media progress – else...
Of course, this expression must first be recognized as such by the viewer in the situation.
Minimalism has been taken to such an extreme that the first impression of the work is purely abstract, as in geometric constructivism, which is quoted and ironized at the same time. The linguistic level that has entered the work refers, with a wink, to the lack of messages in purely formally abstract art.
You use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your artistic practice. Do you consider AI a potential threat to the art world, or does it bring new prospects for you? Are there any specific examples?
So first of all, beauty. That is the aesthetically pleasing composition. Be it image compositions, musical ones or pieces of poetic language. Secondly, dynamics. That may be the dynamics of a music video or the alternation of spontaneous and meticulous phases in the creation of works. Long, careful reflection can encourage a design that can then sometimes be implemented in the blink of an eye. Thirdly, intellectual independence. That means, even if important content accompanies me in my artistic work, such as the question of sustainability, which I pursue with colleagues in the Group Global 3000 project space, I never want an artistic work to be reduced to a content-based statement. The superior artistic expression is found not least through coincidences. Departing from fragments of (contemporary) history, in the best case the work accumulates a completely individual character during the process. Fourthly, youthfulness. Because I, like many artists, developed a penchant for the profession as a young person and I don't want to forget or suppress the emotions of that phase of my life, but rather use them as a driving force. And if you don't pursue extreme sports or other extravagances, you can find excellent means to do so in art and culture - a kind of elixir of life. And fifthly, humour developed from the complexity, which reflects the contradictions of freedom and necessity, and relates youthful defiance and a sort of detached philosophy of life.
You present the exhibition at 2chairs titled “The Parting of the Ways”. What idea is behind the installation? Please say a few words about a location.
The installation "The Parting of the Ways" refers to a milestone in the history of technology - in this case also of civilization as a whole: that at this address in 1941, as a memorial plaque there states, Konrad Zuse presumably developed and presented the world's first functional computer. As a result, people's private lives and the organization of society changed in a fundamental way, and this at an increasing pace to the point of the escalation of digital developments that we are currently experiencing. My installation consists of a small number of floor grid elements that are connected by a click system, square plates that have the appearance of pixels and thus form a highly reduced, minimalist font: the two letters i and f, i.e. the word “if”, which has an important
function in programming languages to structure decision trees. “If” alludes, on the one hand, to programming languages as a cybernetic reality, to the way computers work, but on the other hand, also to the historical course of their development as such. If introducing personal computers into the life of people, technological media progress – else...
Of course, this expression must first be recognized as such by the viewer in the situation.
Minimalism has been taken to such an extreme that the first impression of the work is purely abstract, as in geometric constructivism, which is quoted and ironized at the same time. The linguistic level that has entered the work refers, with a wink, to the lack of messages in purely formally abstract art.
You use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your artistic practice. Do you consider AI a potential threat to the art world, or does it bring new prospects for you? Are there any specific examples?
I do not use artificial intelligence regularly in my artistic practice, but specifically, for example, for image synthesis when I do not have access to corresponding image sources elsewhere. I would like to use it for my work on a case-by-case basis and refine its application because it is a contemporary tool of undeniably increasing importance. At the same time, this brings with it massive problems for the artists and in the public perception. Artistic work in the medium of the image, particularly all genres that are in any way related to baroque fantasy and surrealism, are in danger of being made completely obsolete by AI techniques, even if this cannot be objectively justified. So, except for experts, critics or people with a special sensitivity for aesthetic expression, it will soon no longer be possible to distinguish whether an artist is presenting a specific strategy in the medium of the surreal image in his own handwriting as the "fruit of long experience" (Max Ernst quote), or whether a prompt of a few words has been translated by an algorithm into a bombastic surreal, but possibly soulless fantasy scenario.
Related to AI, do you foresee any specific trends or changes in the art sphere in general? Why does the contemporary world need art?
This new competition can unsettle artists in a very profound way. Motivationally,
philosophically in their self-image, and on the other hand in a very practical way in terms of concern for their livelihood, because their specifically human quality in art may be increasingly less in demand because it can no longer be recognized in a differentiated way at all. It will be an exciting question whether the artistic future will have the resilience to continue to maintain and highlight its human aspects, or whether it will be able to integrate the possibilities of AI into its work constructively and joyfully, instead of passively and resignedly watching the departed train in the distance. In any case, there will be more conceptual media artworks and installations that might make the workings of AI more transparent and openly address them, such as the current exhibition in the Museum of Communication. I welcome the will of artistic intelligence to assert itself against artificial intelligence, as I am firmly convinced that the present, that the contemporary world, desperately needs the art of the human form to counter the pure spiral of consumption and primitive political rhetoric with some complexity,
and not to leave it to machine intelligence at the push of a button.
Please share where you see yourself in the future. What do you want to achieve as an artist? What are your short-term and long-term goals?
My artistic projects emerge above all out of spontaneity, the luxury and privilege of being able to react flexibly to changing situations, inspirations, to perceived necessities of public discourse. I like to be able to postpone something that has once been considered important without any problems if necessary, to experience a momentary inspiration and not have to put off implementation. Specifically, I am currently working on the best album of my post-punk music project DAS LECK, and preparing a release with an additional new single. I am also co-editor of a medical book on resilience and participation in severe and very severe neurological diseases, which is due to be published by Springer Nature next year. For some time now, I have had the idea of a synthesis of my work, of an overarching context to provide a full representation of 25 years of creation. However, my artistic approaches are so widely spread and the implementations so diverse that I have to hope for the imminent arrival of extraterrestrial art historians, which is often suspected, in order to bundle my vision.
Thank you, Stephan, it was a pleasure to talk with you! Good luck with your projects, and I hope to see you soon at 2chairs events.
This new competition can unsettle artists in a very profound way. Motivationally,
philosophically in their self-image, and on the other hand in a very practical way in terms of concern for their livelihood, because their specifically human quality in art may be increasingly less in demand because it can no longer be recognized in a differentiated way at all. It will be an exciting question whether the artistic future will have the resilience to continue to maintain and highlight its human aspects, or whether it will be able to integrate the possibilities of AI into its work constructively and joyfully, instead of passively and resignedly watching the departed train in the distance. In any case, there will be more conceptual media artworks and installations that might make the workings of AI more transparent and openly address them, such as the current exhibition in the Museum of Communication. I welcome the will of artistic intelligence to assert itself against artificial intelligence, as I am firmly convinced that the present, that the contemporary world, desperately needs the art of the human form to counter the pure spiral of consumption and primitive political rhetoric with some complexity,
and not to leave it to machine intelligence at the push of a button.
Please share where you see yourself in the future. What do you want to achieve as an artist? What are your short-term and long-term goals?
My artistic projects emerge above all out of spontaneity, the luxury and privilege of being able to react flexibly to changing situations, inspirations, to perceived necessities of public discourse. I like to be able to postpone something that has once been considered important without any problems if necessary, to experience a momentary inspiration and not have to put off implementation. Specifically, I am currently working on the best album of my post-punk music project DAS LECK, and preparing a release with an additional new single. I am also co-editor of a medical book on resilience and participation in severe and very severe neurological diseases, which is due to be published by Springer Nature next year. For some time now, I have had the idea of a synthesis of my work, of an overarching context to provide a full representation of 25 years of creation. However, my artistic approaches are so widely spread and the implementations so diverse that I have to hope for the imminent arrival of extraterrestrial art historians, which is often suspected, in order to bundle my vision.
Thank you, Stephan, it was a pleasure to talk with you! Good luck with your projects, and I hope to see you soon at 2chairs events.