[lang_en]Gerald Nestler & Sylvia Eckermann — Breathe My Air[/lang_en][lang_zh]Gerald Nestler & Sylvia Eckermann——呼吸“我”的空气[/lang_zh]

[lang_en]

(Launch Event)

7 – 9 November 2008

An exhibition project curated by Li Zhenhua
Hosted by CPU:798

Supported by:
Cultural Forum of the Austrian Embassy Beijing
Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture
City of Vienna Department for Cultural Affairs
L.A.B. (www.bjartlab.com)
Translation: Michelle Ding (L.A.B.)

Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann, 'Breathe My Air', video still, 2008. © the artists

Press Release

中文 + English language

CPU:798 are delighted to host the launch in China of Breathe My Air, an art project on intellectual and social environments and their relations by the Austrian artists Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann.

This launch will represent the beginning of the second phase of Breathe My Air, which began with a series of recorded interviews in Vienna, Austria, investigating contemporary thinking on progress, change and utopia in Europe and China, by European artists and cultural workers who have direct experience of both.

The second phase, being launched at CPU:798, builds on these interviews, soliciting input from Chinese artists and cultural workers who have experience of Europe.

This phase will culminate in May 2009 with the building of “an invisible sculpture”, a demarcated space of pure, oxygenized air and mutual communication in CPU:798.

Launch Event

The launch event takes place for three days, from Friday 7 to Sunday 9 November 2008 in CPU:798.

The artists will be present throughout the event to give visitors an opportunity to learn more about the project, develop the discussions directly with them and be a part of the process of Breathe My Air. In the Gallery the artists will also present a selection of previous works of the last two years to give context to this new piece. The original interviews from Austria will be shown in an intimate environment to encourage visitors to linger and contemplate the issues at stake.

Documentation of Launch Event

Breathe My Air – May 2009

In May 2009, CPU:798 will host the completion of this phase of the project with a month-long show in the form of a participatory ‘paradox conversation’ bringing together the interviews from Europe in conjunction with the new material from China, that builds upon the former, in a specially constructed environment. The gallery will be sealed and provided with an air purification and oxygenation system, and entry will be by air-lock to preserve the quality of the interior atmosphere. This environment will provide a recreational as well as a metaphorical space, seemingly apart from our day to day concerns, designed to be conducive to an enlightened dialogue.

“The two basic materials of Breathe My Air are both invisible: air and thoughts; air as the basic element by which most life as we know it – including ourselves – exists, thoughts as the basic element by which we form our social and individual lives. Air and thoughts are at the basis of a potentially enriching atmosphere and trigger the vital experiences of human life and nature.

“The project examines air aesthetically as a sculpture. We are interested in its diverse and rich socio-cultural interpretations. Interpretations themselves rest in socio-cultural environments. We invite Western and Chinese artists, writers, and curators to participate in what we like to call a ‘paradox conversation’ on their personal experiences with the other, as well as on the terms Progress, Change, and Utopia in their respective cultures.

“The project aims to build a vocabulary, a method of tackling the invisible but vital aspects of our cultural and environmental economies. It addresses a common and thus forceful and imaginative approach towards influencing and dealing with the quality of our habitat.”

“The project will also exist as a website archive and forum for further development and discussion.”

Biography

Sylvia Eckermann

www.syl-eckermann.net

Lives and works in Vienna, Austria. She has been working in the field of electronic arts since 1989. Interactive installations and media related artworks realized in Vienna, London, Mexico City, Helsinki, Norwich, London, Cairo, Beijing, Shanghai, Athens; Commissioned work for ISEA94 and ISEA04, EAST, Millennium Dome London 2000, Cultural Capital of Europe Graz 2003. Serious Games for museums and schools. Sylvia Eckermann has pioneered in the field of artistic use of game engines in various game art installations. (synworld, ISEA, games-computerspiele von KuenstlerInnen, GameArt, artgames, cyber@rt, medi@terra).

Gerald Nestler

www.geraldnestler.net

Lives and works in Vienna, Austria. He deals with different aspects of what he calls “econociety”—a more and more global economy that is shaping our world today, particularly with respect to the roles and significance of the individual and of societies. After graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 1992, he has been working as a visual artist, often in collaboration with other artists, theoreticians or scientists. From 1994 to 1997 he ‘field researched’ financial markets as a broker and trader, which resulted in art projects as well as theoretical approaches. He received an Austrian State Scholarship for Visual Art in 2003. He has exhibited internationally since 1992. His published Yx. fluid taxonomies–enlitened elevation–voided dimensions–human derivatives–vibrations in hyperreal econociety, a book on art and economy with Schlebruegge.Editors, Vienna in 2007.

Gallery Opening Hours

Friday 7 – Sunday 9 November 2008
13:00 – 18:00
(or by appointment)

Contact

Edward Sanderson
Tel/Fax: +86 13621078560
Email: cpu798@gmail.com

[/lang_en]
[lang_zh]

(项目发布会)

2008年11月7日－9日

项目策展人：李振华
主办方： CPU:798

赞助机构:
奥地利驻北京大使馆文化论坛
奥地利联邦教育机构, 艺术与文化部
维也纳市文化事务部
L.A.B.艺术实验室 (www.bjartlab.com)
翻译: 丁燕萍 (L.A.B.)

Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann, '呼吸“我”的空气', video still, 2008. © the artists

新闻稿	中文 + English language

CPU:798很荣幸在中国主持《呼吸“我”的空气》项目发布会，《呼吸“我”的空气》是关于知识与社会环境及其相互关系的艺术项目，作者是奥地利艺术家Gerald Nestler and Sylvia Eckermann。

介绍第一阶段由欧洲艺术家（对东西方世界都有直接体验的文化工作者）在奥地利维也纳录制的系列访谈，对欧洲和中国的当代思想关于进步、改变和乌托邦的调研，来揭开《呼吸“我”的空气》第二阶段的序幕。

在CPU:798发布的《呼吸“我”的空气》，第二阶段诚征中国艺术家（对东西方世界都有直接体验的文化工作者）参与。

这一阶段将在2009年5月于CPU:798建构“一个不可见的雕塑”——纯净、氧化空气和相互沟通的分界空间时终结。

新闻发布会

项目发布会将持续三天，从2008年11月7日（周五）至9日（周日）在CPU:798举行。艺术家们将出席整个发布会，使参观者有机会更多地了解此项目，与他们直接展开讨论，并成为《呼吸“我”的空气》进程的一部分。艺术家也将选择过去两年的作品在CPU:798展出，为新作品提供背景参考。来自奥地利的原版访谈将在一个温馨的环境里展播。

呼吸“我”的空气 – 2009年5月

2009年5月，CPU:798将用长达一个月的展览来完成项目的第二阶段。这个展览将在一个特别建造的环境里，以提供互动参与的“矛盾对话”——欧洲访谈及其衍生的中国新作品相结合的方式呈现。CPU:798将被封闭，净化空气和系统充氧，入口将被气锁锁住以维持内部空气的质量。这个环境提供了一个娱乐和隐喻的空间，似乎远离我们日常的思维，却便于展开对话。

“呼吸‘我’的空气的两个基本要素都是不可见的：空气与思想；正如我们所知，大多数生命——包括我们自己——都依靠空气生存，而思想使得我们的社会和个人生活得以形成。空气和思想都是不可见但丰富的氛围，也触发人类生命与自然的体验。

“本项目把空气当作一个雕塑，从美学角度来审视。我们对其丰富多样的社会文化转译感兴趣。不同的解释则取决于不同的社会文化环境。我们邀请西方和中国的艺术家、作家、策展人参与一个称之为“矛盾对话”的项目，发表他们与他人沟通的个人经验，以及在各自的文化中对进步、变化和乌托邦的理解。

“这个项目的目的是要构建一种词汇，一种攻克无形的方法，却与我们周遭的环境经济与文化有着某种动态层面的关联。它是关联和影响人们生存环境质量的有力和有想象力的一次推进。”

“该项目还将以网站档案和论坛的形式存在，以便进一步的发展和讨论。”