Aram Bartholl

Quote

"I think it's interesting that [connecting your computer to one of the Dead Drops] is perceived as dangerous because somebody could put a virus on them. Of course, one could, it's a very open and in that sense a very radical project. Also, people can walk by and just rip them out, something people did too. What is interesting is that we perceive it as dangerous because we think of the city – what's happening out there on the streets – as something dangerous, because it's public space. On the computer, however, when you share files via the internet for instance, or visit some website, it's much more likely that you get a virus in a second. We don't really think about it or perceive these actions as potentially harmful because we're at home – I have my coffee here, it's cozy. Again, this is about how we live, what rules, feelings and behaviors we connect to online and offline spaces. The moment you break them up, people start thinking differently about it."

About

Aram Bartholl has been working in Berlin since 1995. He studied architecture at the University of the Arts UdK Berlin and graduated there in 2001. Bartholl worked as a freelancer for DMC, MVRDV, IEB Berlin and Fraunhofer Institut FOCUS among others. His installations and performances have been shown at numerous festivals, museum and gallery shows worldwide. Often he is invited to give workshops and to present his work at conferences and universities/art schools.

Aram Bartholl is a member of the NYC based ‘Free, Art & Technology Lab' a.k.a. ‘F.A.T. Lab.' Net politics Institutions like the CCC (Chaos Computer Club) and the discussion on: copyright, DIY movement and the web development in general do play an important role in his work. Since several years Aram Bartholl collects impressions on street art, games, privacy, copyright and neoanalogue culture in his blog.

In his artwork Aram Bartholl thematizes the relationships between net data space and public every day life. “In which form does the network data world manifest itself in our everyday life? What returns from cyberspace into physical space? How do digital innovations influence our everyday actions?” Through his installations, workshops and performances Bartholl developed a unique way to discuss the impact of the digital era on society.

In his series of physical objects recreated from digital space and a series of light installations he questions the technology driven society and the tension of public on- and offline space. Workshops interventions and performances in public play a central role in his interest to create offline social platforms and situations to discuss day to day life in the era of Google, Facebook, Twitter and co.

Links

◆ Aram Bartholl's Website
◆ Dead Drops Website
◆ Michelle Young: "Block Quotes: Dust to Dust" post on Kill Screen, January 31, 2012 - article on Aram Bartholl's work

Publications

◆ Aram Bartholl - The Speed Book. Perceptive and entertaining investigations of digital culture, ed. Domenico Quaranta, 2012 - monography on Aram Bartholl