Xcult Kollektivprojekte

Curator-projects* and collective projects* on Xcult

* Since 1995 we have been regularly producing and curating group projects, in which artists, writers and theoreticians have worked together on a common theme on the Net. The Internet has provided the pre-requisite for this in terms of both method and form.
* In the collective projects [SHOP], [Texts, Scripts & Codes] and [TOUR 1+2], works are combined by reason of their formal and topical coherence.

56kTV - bastard channel 2004 - 2006*
56kTV - bastard channel is a co-production of xcult.org and the Swiss Art Foundation Pro Helvetia, with participating artists and authors from Germany, France, India, Japan, Mexico, South Corea, Switzerland and USA. bastard channel is a cross between a television and a web project, a platform in the Internet that tells the story of itself as a television channel.
The project employs the techniques and forms of the WWW, but is oriented to suit the formats of TV-channels: news, quiz, documentary soaps, action movies etc. The project also takes on the form of daily and weekly programs from the real TV-channels. Individual contributions of our project will be available in the Web only at definite times. If one wants to see more, then one will have to consult the program schedule of our TV-program. Our project will suspend the unrestricted availability of the net and the quick consumability of its contents. A text feature from international authors will accompany the TV-project and the individual art-contributions in the form of an online program-magazine. The texts will serve the purpose of theoretical reflection and project dissemination.
contributions by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries, Seoul; Marc Lee, Zurich; Shu Lea Cheang, nomad artist; Exonemo, Tokyo; Birgit Kempker, Basel; Jimpunk, Paris; Nathalie Novarina / Marcel Croubalian, Geneva; Monica Studer / Christoph van den Berg, Basel; Beat Brogle, Berlin / Philippe Zimmermann, Zurich; Fran Ilich, Mexico City; Jody Zellen, Los Angeles; Martin Dahlhauser / Dorothea Hein, Berlin; Estee Oarsed, Bangalore; graphics: Martin Woodtli, Zurich; project idea: Storz/Studer/van den Berg; curator: Reinhard Storz; production: Xcult.org and The Arts Council of Switzerland Pro Helvetia.
Press / Exhibitions / Festivals

Texts, Scripts & Codes 1996 - 2004 *
Text and language works of fine artists and authors.
Scripts, codes and sound plays. Recipes, poetry, found footage and the art of translation.
Contributions by Martin Grether, Esther Hunziker / F.X.Zbinden, Daniela Keiser, Birgit Kempker, Monica Studer / Christoph v d Berg, Hervé Graumann. Interface-Design: Klaus Affolter.

SHRINK TO FIT 2001/02*
In 2001/02 we realised the project 'shrink to fit' with participating artists from Germany, England, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and the USA. The subject for this project is the "Economy of Attention".

Artists (+Authors): Hervé Graumann, Geneva (Hans Christian Dany, Berlin), Thomas Feuerstein, Wien (Birgit Kempker, Basel), Vladimir Muzhesky, New York (Barbara Basting, Zürich), John Klima, New York (Blackhawk, New York), Claudia und Julia Müller, Basel (Yvonne Volkart, Zürich), Philippe Schwinger und Frédéric Moser, Geneva (Hans Rudolf Reust, Bern), Holger Friese, Berlin (Felix Stalder, Toronto), Domiziana Giordano, Rom / Reiner Strasser, Wiesbaden (Samuel Herzog, Basel), Shu Lea Cheang, London (Hans Dieter Huber, Stuttgart).
Curators: Reinhard Storz and Monica Studer / Christoph v d Berg (Basel), with support by Barbara Basting (Zurich), Hans Rudolf Reust (Bern)
Production: Xcult.org, Museum of Communication Bern and Museum of Fine Arts Bern.

Ramshow 1999*
From June to December 99 Xcult launched the project RAMSHOW on the themes of memory, tele-presence and construction of identities. A huge hypertext-opus involving 12 players came out as the result of more than 6 months of work. The participating artists and theoreticians live in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Helsinki, Lucerne, Toronto and Zurich. (Almost) all the persons involved sent in their contributions directly to the server. The project organisation was handled by Monica Studer/Christoph v d Berg and Reinhard Storz.
The particpants developed their respective parts of the project, always in relation to the other contributions, and put up their latest portions every Friday on the Net. Up to the end of 1999, 20 updated versions were realised.
Artists: Davix (Luzern), Birgit Kempker (Basel), k3000 (Zürich), Simon Lamunière (Geneva), Mikka Maasalo (Helsinki), Laurent Schmid (Bern), Markus Schwander (Basel), Felix Stalder (Toronto), Miriam Steinhauser (Zürich), Reinhard Storz (Basel), Marion Strunk (Zürich), Monica Studer / Christoph v d Berg (Basel).
Concept: Reinhard Storz and Monica Studer/Christoph v d Berg.

Shopping Mall since 1998*
In 1996/97, the Internet began to find its first foothold in Switzerland. Since then, more and more companies have been putting up their own homepages (cultural institutions followed about 1-2 years later). As a reaction to the increasing commericalisation of the Web, we launched our Shopping Mall in 1998. Several artists have been working independent of each other, on their own product offerings, which realise eCommerce-ideas or reflect ironically. The work of these artists who today enjoy a good name in the Swiss art scene, and who were among the first to integrate Net-production into their work concept, are unified in the Shopping Mall. Xcult became the platform for their early Net-work.
Artists: Relax, LB, Studer/v d Berg, Claudia Güdel, Doris Traubenzucker/@home, k3000, Mirjam Steinhauser/miss, Christian Schoch, Reinhard Storz, tschumi & tschumi.
Interface-Image: Emanuel Tschumi. Conzept: Reinhard Storz.

Schnittstelle Netzhaut (Interface Retina) 1995/96*
This first major group project by artists and writers was spearheaded from November1995 to February 1996 by Reinhard Storz (The Thing.ch, Basel) and Daniel Hauser (relax, Biel) as a mailbox-project. The occasion was the exhibition curated by Martin R. Dean "Speaking Bodies" in the Skulpturhalle Basel. In March 1996, Hauser/Storz realised a web-version of the Interface Netskin on the The Thing.at server.
In 1995 there were still relatively few artisits working on computers and almost none who were comfortable with Net-technologies. Reinhard Storz, who was looking after the Open Forum, therefore provided the necessary help in realising the concepts. The contributions consisted almost exclusively of static images and texts. Of the 2 animations, one was actually received, and there was also a Quicktime-Movie accompanying it, but this does not seem to work any more with current techniques. In the case of the 3 audio-contributions, our computer mostly crashed. The email-discussion forum under the responsibility of Daniel Hauser did not come into existence, mostly because most of the participants still had no e-mail accounts (which worked). To begin with, the project was primarily running through the The Thing.vienna and through locally installed computer stations, and public presentations used to find their audience in the Skulturhalle Basel, at the L@den Basel and in the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich.
Artists: Alma, Markus Buser, Marie-Antoinette Chiarenza, Martin R. Dean, Pascale Grau, daniel hauser, Silvia Henke, Lori Hersberger, Simone Kurz, Corina Lempen, Andrea Luginbuehl, Elisabeth Ritschard, Sibylle Roter, Caroline Seiler, Stek AG Zürich, Reinhard Storz, Christoph Storz, Barbara Strebel, Doris Traubenzucker, Tschumi & Tschumi, Hannah Villiger.

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