ZEE is a rigorous mindscape; a hallucinatory architecture of light; a dream machine.
An enclosed space is filled with a dense, odorless fog that completely obscures the walls, floor and ceiling. Individuals freely roam this environment, while flickering light filters through the haze, inducing hallucinations and sensory distortions within each viewer. A droning soundscape intensifies this full-immersion experience, shifting dynamically according to changes in the color, frequency and intensity of the light.
Exhilarating and meditative, Hentschläger’s pulsing, stroboscopic and mind-altering ZEE pushes the boundaries of human perception and creates an intensely riveting audiovisual journey.
“Hentschläger’s piece delivered literally on the hackneyed promise that art will refashion one’s way of seeing the world.” – Kenneth Baker, Art Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, November 2008
ZEE was originally commissioned by OK-Center Linz, and Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh in 2008.
Kurt Hentschläger is Managed and Represented by Richard Castelli / Epidemic
Supported by: BMUKK -Austrian Ministry for Education, Art & Culture and MEDA(TM) – vision beyond
Production Assistance: Shane Mecklenburger / Technical Assistance Touring: Alexander Boehmler, Ian Brill
Important information: Anybody with the following conditions should not attend ZEE: photosensitive epilepsy; asthma, breathing and heart problems; abnormal blood pressure; migraine & headaches; all kinds of eye & ear diseases; claustrophobia or anxiety. Pregnant women are also advised to refrain from attending. Please note: The artificial fog being used is proven, even in extreme intensities, not to be of any health risk; the stroboscopes used in the show are standard theatrical units.
Kurt Hentschläger
A constant innovator and one of the most influential figures in the field of contemporary art and technology, Hentschläger merges conceptual art, sound, video, performance,and technologyin his large-scale installations. Since launching his career in 1983, his work has been commissioned worldwide, including: NoiseGate 2000 for Creative Time’s Art in the Anchorage as part of the Austrian duo Granular-Synthesis, representing Austria at the 2001 Venice Biennale, and his most recent installations ZEE, RANGE and KARMA/X are currently touring. www.kurthentschlager.com
About FuturePerfect
ZEE is the inaugural event of FuturePerfect, a new initiative that researches and presents hybrid performance practices, media forms, and artistic ideas that continue to emerge as computer technologies and electronic networks mature and become inseparable from contemporary culture. In particular focus is the future of live performance and related visual culture. FuturePerfect 2011, a performance festival and exhibition, is slated for New York City during Spring 2011. Wayne Ashley is FuturePerfect’s founding artistic director, the former Director of Arts in Multimedia at Brooklyn Academy of Music, BAM. Contact: Wayne Ashley at waynewayneashley.net. More info: www.futureperfectfestival.org
New York Premiere
October 28 – November 15, 2009
3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, near Rector St., Lower Manhattan
Time: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 5-9pm; Saturday, Sunday 2pm-9pm
Project begins on the hour and the half hour; approximately 20 minutes.
Kurt Hentschläger’s ZEE is now previewing BY INVITATION ONLY for individual visits by the press, curators, and professionals in the art and performance community. Due to limited capacity, entrance is by confirmed RSVP only -please contact rsvp@futureperfectfestival.org and include your phone number.
Panel Discussion: Performance, Installation and Immersion–Free
Presented by FuturePerfect and CPR–Center for Performance Research
Venue: CPR–Center for Performance Research
361 Manhattan Avenue, Unit 1, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Sunday, October 25, 2009
1:30pm – 3:30pm
In conjunction with the opening of ZEE, FuturePerfect, CPR–Center for Performance Research, 3LD Art & Technology Center, and PS122 invite you a panel on Performance, Installation, and Immersion. Panelists include: Kevin Cunningham (Director, 3-Legged Dog Media and Theater Group), Kurt Hentschläger (Artist, Austria/US), Kora Van den Bulcke and Thomas Soetens (Workspace Unlimited, Artist Collective Belgium/Canada), Allen Feldman (Associate Professor, Anthropology, NYU). Discussants include: Vallejo Gantner (PS122), Morgan von Prelle Pecelli (PS122), Wayne Ashley (FuturePerfect), Jonah Bokaer (CPR–Center for Performance Research), Dr. Frank Hentschker (Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, CUNY), and others to be announced. https://www.cprnyc.org