Short signal. Long signal. Pause. Morse code is a system that recognizes only two signs: signal or no signal, whereby the time length of the signal is variable. It is characterized by a variety of possible applications: via sound or radio, with electrical impulses or interruption of a constant signal, with light signals that are switched on and off. Brigitte Kowanz also uses Morse code when she creates words with light – in other words, when she writes with light. At the heart of her work is the thematization of the universal need to send and receive messages, as well as the question of the influence of new media and technologies on our communication. With “Beyond that”, Kowanz staged a total of ten trees in the Schlosspark as a means of communication and invited visitors to expose their message themselves with light. Wrapped in reflective foil strips, the trees became carriers of Morse codes that could be deciphered with their own cell phone flashlight. By illuminating the trunks themselves in the dark, the message was revealed: Beyond that. Beyond the illumination of light, the code also exists in the darkness. Beyond the shining of the stars, the universe exists. Beyond our existence there is infinity. Everyone can find their own interpretation of “Beyond that”. What Brigitte Kowanz’s intervention made everyone aware of, however, was the dematerialization of art and the visualization of the immateriality, fleetingness and boundlessness of light. Guided by the phrase Light is what we see, Brigitte Kowanz shows the paradox of light: it makes everything visible, but usually remains invisible itself. Her codes serve the artist as an aesthetic means of communication. Her invitation is extended to all those who wish to decipher them.
KLANGLICHT 2021
Brigitte Kowanz studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna from 1975 to 1980, where she also holds a professorship from 1997 to 2021. Her works have been shown at the Venice Biennale, the Sao Paolo Biennale, the Sydney Biennale, the Cairo Biennale, the Fondation Beyeler, the Hayward Gallery London, the Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, the MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma and the Shanghai Art Museum, among others. Light and space, media and information are central elements in Brigitte Kowanz’s multi-layered work. Language, codes, symbols and signs are poetically illuminated in subtle installations. Kowanz creates auratic situations in which viewers play a decisive role in activating and possibly decoding them. Current installations address the influence of new technologies on the construction of reality. The acceleration of communication meets the acceleration of life. Kowanz’s works literally reflect this dynamic: the rhythmic, sensual quality of light, in which the audience is immersed, also becomes a contemplative counter-project.
Light installation: Brigitte Kowanz
Sound: Elias Jocher
Visualization: Studio Brigitte Kowanz
Technical implementation: grafx live-marketing GmbH, slv-austria
The art intervention was realized with the kind support of
of the Federation of Austrian Industries Styria.