Short signal. Long signal. Break. Morse code is a system that recognizes only two characters: 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 pulses 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 what influence new media and technologies have on our communication. With „Beyond that“, Kowanz staged a total of ten trees in the palace park as a means of communication and invited visitors to reveal their message themselves with light. Wrapped in reflective foil strips, the trees became the carriers of Morse codes that could be decoded with their own cell phone flashlights. By illuminating the trunks in the dark with their own hands, the message was revealed: Beyond that. In addition to being illuminated with light, the code also exists in darkness. The universe exists beyond the shining stars. Beyond our existence there is infinity. Everyone will 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. Your invitation is extended to anyone who would like to decode them.
KLANGLICHT 2021

Brigitte Kowanz studied at the University of Applied Arts Vienna from 1975 to 1980, where she also held 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 the activation and possible decoding. 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-design.
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.