Current Events

Urban Art Biennale

26. April – 10. November 2024
Biennial, Völklinger Hüttte, Saarbrücken

Decoding the Black Box

27. January – 2. June 2024
Group Show, Galerie Stadt Sindelfingen, Sindelfingen

Die Ausstellung Decoding the Black Box bringt Künstlerinnen und Künstler zusammen, die Licht in diesen dunklen Raum und die Prozesse werfen, die sich in ihm ereignen. Sie legen dabei nicht nur die Funktionsweisen digitaler Technologien wie beispielsweise von künstlicher Intelligenz offen, sondern visualisieren zugleich die Auswirkungen, die sie auf unsere Wahrnehmung von Realität und unser In-der-Welt-Sein haben. Während sie die ökonomischen und machtpolitischen Strukturen der digitalen Technologien und insbesondere des Internets transparent machen, zeigen sie Gegenentwürfe für eine dezentralisierte, humanere und demokratischere Nutzung ebendieser auf.

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Recent Events

Killyourphone workshop

13. April 2024
Workshop, Transmediale exhibition hosted by Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin

14:00 – 16:00

Killyourphone is an open workshop format. Participants are invited to make their own signal blocking phone pouch. In the pouch the phone can’t send or receive any signals. It is dead! This workshop was run for the first time at the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg end of 2013.

Stitch Incoming!!

25. March 2024
Curatorial, Speed Show at Web Cafe, Athens

Monday 25th of March, 7:00 PM at Web Cafe, Eptanisou 40, 113 61 , Kypseli – Athens

with:
!Mediengruppe Bitnik with Selena Savić & Gordan Savičić , Ingrid Hideki, Joanna Bacas, Kyriaki Goni, Maria Mavropoulou, Marina Gioti, Marsunev, Nadja Buttendorf, Theo Triantafyllidis

Curated by Aram Bartholl & Socrates Stamatatos

Speed Show lands in Greece, the country of souvlaki, the sun (yes we can claim that they originated a celestial body), ouzo, feta, an enormous financial debt. Currently, Greece is also trending for all the wrong reasons namely, gentrification, queerphobia, state crimes and more dystopic incidents.
As 2024 unfolds, we find ourselves amidst a whirlwind of confusion, bombarded with a cacophony of online horrors to consume, an attention span further abbreviated by TikTok’s algorithm and the barrage of incoming stitches.

Stitches Incoming serve as a conduit for creators to engage and converse, traversing from one topic to the next. They have evolved into a new social fabric, weaving connections within an ever-shifting digital and physical landscape while also serving as a testament to personal and collective traumas, both past and present.

What unites the participating digital artists? Perhaps everything and nothing simultaneously… Departing from the traditional Speed Show setup, where artworks are carefully stacked inside internet cafe computers, and drawing inspiration from the structure of TikTok stitches, each piece seems to propel the conversation forward, or perhaps uses the next as a springboard for its own narrative.

Stitch this and stitch that, we have everything you ever wanted (maybe) ! Are we stuck in an infinite loop of sh*tposting, valuable content, the highlight of social issues, personal and interpersonal experiences?
Maybe! Come and find out…

More info on Speed Shows at https://speedshow.net/stitch-incoming/

Killyourphone workshop

23. March 2024
Workshop, Transmediale exhibition hosted by Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin

14:00 – 16:00

Killyourphone is an open workshop format. Participants are invited to make their own signal blocking phone pouch. In the pouch the phone can’t send or receive any signals. It is dead! This workshop was run for the first time at the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg end of 2013.

Killyourphone workshop

9. March 2024
Workshop, Transmediale exhibition hosted by Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin

14:00 – 16:00

Killyourphone is an open workshop format. Participants are invited to make their own signal blocking phone pouch. In the pouch the phone can’t send or receive any signals. It is dead! This workshop was run for the first time at the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg end of 2013.

Blog Archive for Category: Uncategorized

Skulpturprojekte at Kunstverein Arnsberg

October 17, 2016
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Britta Peters
Vortrag
Montag, 17. Oktober 2016, 19 Uhr
Anlässlich der Ausstellung von Aram Bartholl, möchten wir Sie zum Vortrag von Britta Peters einladen, Kuratorin von Skulptur Projekte Münster 2017.
Seit ihrer ersten Ausgabe 1977 haben sich die Skulptur Projekte Münster zu einer der weltweit wichtigsten Ausstellung von Kunst im öffentlichen Raum entwickelt. Ihr großzügiger Turnus von zehn Jahren macht die Skulptur Projekte nicht nur zu einem besonderen Ereignis, sondern auch zu einem Ort, an dem jenseits von Moden und Trends nach der Zeitgenossenschaft öffentlicher Kunst gefragt wird. Im Sommer 2017 sind zum fünften Mal internationale Künstlerinnen und Künstler eingeladen, an einem selbstgewählten Ort innerhalb der Stadt Münster ein Projekt zu realisieren. Ein gutes halbes Jahr vor der Eröffnung am 10. Juni 2017 gibt Kuratorin Britta Peters einen kurzen Einblick in den Stand der Planungen, um anschließend, anknüpfend an die aktuelle Ausstellung von Aram Bartholl, die Frage zu diskutieren, ob und wie die zunehmende Digitalisierung unseres Alltags
herkömmliche Vorstellungen von öffentlichem Raum verändert.
Britta Peters (*1967) arbeitet als Kunstkritikerin und freie Kuratorin. 2008-2011 leitete sie den Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof. 2012 kuratierte sie die Ausstellung „Demonstrationen. Vom Werden normativer Ordnungen“ im Frankfurter Kunstverein. 2014 gefolgt von dem Ausstellungsprojekt „Krankheit als Metapher. Das Irre im Garten der Arten“ an verschiedenen Orten in Hamburg.

Greenscreen Arnsberg

October 2, 2016

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Greenscreen Arnsberg
performance in public,
Aram Bartholl
2016
Greenscreen Arnsberg is a performance in public space which took place during the show “Remind me later” at Kunstverein Arnsberg in July 2016. The idea is to ‘catch’ random pedestrian in public with a portable green-screen. The by-passers become unwittingly actors  of an imaginary movie set. The green-screen background represents unlimited layers of augmentation in a post social everyday life.

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Interview – Dead Drops on Huffpo

September 1, 2016


The internet revolutionized information sharing, allowing people all over the world to post content and distribute it among networks. But as the internet has grown, surveillance on the web has exploded as well. So one artist is encouraging people to forget the cloud and share information in a totally anonymous way.
In 2010, Berlin-based media artist Aram Bartholl started “Dead Drops,” his participatory file-sharing art project, by cementing a USB drive into a brick wall in New York City.

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Speculative Privacy: Practical and impractical things you can do to your phone

August 24, 2016

“Speculative Privacy: Practical and impractical things you can do to your phone” is a lecture-workshop-performance format I presented at the Datapolitics conference track during the annual International Summer festival, Kampnagel, Hamburg on August 20th.
First the audience got stickers on their smart phone cameras at the entrance (in true Berghain manner) and then was instructed to do a few tests and look up settings on their devices during the talk. In the second half of the presentation everyone was invited to the stage to test different tools and materials on their phones while we kept discussing todays privacy questions. Some of the ‘mini workshops’ are useful others don’t really make sense but offer a strong therapeutic moment to ‘grill’ your mobile phone in a non destructive way.  You always wanted to flush your phone in the toilet or bury it in cement? This is your chance! Have it vacuumed in a plastic bag and dip it in paint or through it in other actions!
All slides of the talk and related links here! : http://datenform.de/talks/kampnagel/
Aram Bartholl, 2016
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…more pictures on flickr!!


How to cement in your phone in a non-destructive way!
Aram Bartholl: Speculative Privacy
Aram Bartholl ist Konzept- und Medienkünstler. Im Mittelpunkt seines Interesses steht die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der zunehmenden Digitalisierung unseres Alltags. In seinen oft humorvollen Arbeiten überführt er Items aus der Netzwelt ins Analoge, um bspw. die Allgegenwärtigkeit von Internetunternehmen wie Google sichtbar zu machen. In seinem performativen Workshop TRANSPARENCY zeigt er welche digitalen Spuren bei der Benutzung von Smartphones entstehen und welche Möglichkeiten es gibt, diese zu verwischen.
Thanks to the Kampnagel team for making all this possible!
http://www.kampnagel.de/de/programm/datapolitics/
20. August 2016, 18:00 – 19:30 (Halle P1)
Kampnagel, Hamburg

'DeafenYourPhone' – How to make sure your phone is not listening on you

August 23, 2016

The ‘DeafenYourPhone’ tube is a mobile, low-cost, DIY sound dampening solition to prevent supposedly hacked phones from eavesdropping on its owner.

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The Matryoshka tube in a tube concept works well to isolate a phone sound proof from its environment.
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To avoid impact sound transmission the tubes are isolated with foam. Add another tube if you want to increase the sound proofing quality.
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Dimensions: 12 x 12 x 30 cm ; weight: 1 kg ; material cost: 24,- €
The problem
Once targeted a standard mobile phone can be hacked by an attacker and easily be modified to record sound at any time. This might sound like a farfetched spy story to you but in the year 3 after Snowden politicians, lawyers, NGOs or journalists have to deal very much with these kind of questions. Recently Edward Snowden & Bennie Huan presented the project “Introspection Engine”, a hardware modification for iPhones that monitors and signals radio traffic on a hardware level to make sure the phone is ‘really off’. Different voices in the hacker community pointed out that this device cannot prevent phones from listen to a conversation and to relay the data ‘later’ to the ‘attacker’. It is generally advised for i.e. journalists who are meeting a ‘source’ to leave their phones ‘at home’ or in a sound dampening closet like a fridge nearby. However, depending on the local situation this is not necessarily a practical solution. You might need the phone to plan the meeting and maybe the place where you meet has no fridge or similar appliances accessible.
How does it work?
Like a russian Matryoshka doll the phone is locked into a foam isolated plastic tube with screw cover, which again is placed in an isolated plastic tube. After a series of tests with different containers it showed that a round tube of hard plastic provides good properties to block sound. It is very important to disrupt direct contact of the phone case and plastic tubes to avoid impact sound transmission. The double layer tube in a tube approach can be improved with a 3rd or more layers of plastic tubes. Surprisingly it is quite difficult to prevent a phone microphone from ‘hearing’ something. Try it yourself! I did tests with pouches, boxes, kitchen containers, glass containers, pelican cases and so on. Often there the recorded sound is already very low but always good enough to listen to a conversation once you pull up the volume in post-production audio software. Heavy high density material would work best to block sound waves but to walk around with a concrete block seems not very practical. However if you find out other better solutions please share your ideas!
Tutorial:

  1. Get different size plastic drain tubes and covers with rubber seals from your local DIY store. Screw covers are advised but sometimes harder to get. In german the grey tubes are called ‘HT-Rohr
  2. Buy some foam. I used just 10 mm standard foam but there is also special foam for sound canceling available i.e. in the auto mobile market available. Total cost of tubes and foam ca 24,- €
  3. Place the phone in the isolated tube and close the cover tight. Make sure the phone cover is not touching the tube directly. Place the small tube in the big tube and also close this one tight.
    ( The small tube I got only has diameter of only 7,5 cm. Small size smart phones still fit in here. Any new iPhone or Samsung will need a bigger tube. )

Disclaimer!
Make sure to test your setup! Put your phone to record audio and lock it in the tubes. Try different sound sources in a variety of distances to the DeafenYourPhone tube and check the results in audio software on your computer. In a normal medium sound environment, with a distance of 1-2 meters and normal voice speaking level I wasn’t able to extract any usable audio from the recordings. Only rely on this proposal for a sound proofing capsule if you have tested and proofed its function properly. Tips and recommendations from audio/eavesdropping experts are welcome! 😉
History
I presented this sound proof tube concept along with the killyourphone.com pouches workshop end of 2013 at the #30C3 conference, the annual congress of the CCC (Chaos Computer Club) but haven’t documented it properly since then. This blog post is dedicated to Linus Neumann and Tim Pritlove from Logbuch Netzpolitik.org. ;))
Audio test!!
This is an audio test with the above shown setup. “Logbuch Netzpolitik” #190 is running at a decent volume (normal voice level). The tubes are closed and then placed ca. 1m away from the speaker. If you are able to extract the conversation of Tim and Linus while the phone (iPhone 5) is in the tube please let me know!

AV / DV

July 22, 2016

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AV / DV
intervention & object
rubber, metal, 40x5x2cm, video 1:49 min
AV /DV is a customized 40 cm pressure hose – AV  Auto valve / DV Dunlop valve adapter – to balance pressure between a car and bicycle tire. First tested and shown at Remind me later solo show at Kunstverein Arnsberg.

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#remindmelater DOCUMENTATION

July 14, 2016

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Aram Bartholl, ‘Aluthut Workshop (tinfoil hat workshop)’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Remind me later’ 2016. Exhibition view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Remind me later’ 2016. Exhibition view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Remind me later’ 2016. Exhibition view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘5 min, 1h, tonight, tomorrow…(Remind me later)’ 2016. Display view.  Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Aluthut Workshop (tinfoil hat workshop)’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Aluthut Workshop (tinfoil hat workshop)’ & Shooting Your Film With Quality’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Shooting Your Film With Quality’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘AV/DV’ 2016. Performance in public, video still. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl,  ‘AV/DV’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg

Aram Bartholl, ‘AV/DV’ 2016. Performance in public. Vdeo 1:49. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘The Internet’ 2015 & ‘Shake it!’ 2015. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Atlas Shrugged’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Atlas Shrugged’ 2016. Display view. Courtesy Kunstverein
 
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Greenscreen Arnsberg’ 2016. Performance in public, video still.  Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Greenscreen Arnsberg’ 2016. Performance in public, video still.  Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg

Aram Bartholl, ‘Greenscreen Arnsberg’ 2016. Performance in public. Video 3:47. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Phone Zone’ 2016. Display view, installation in public. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Phone Zone’ 2016. Display view, installation in public. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Touch screen to begin’ 2016. Display view, installation in public. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
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Aram Bartholl, ‘Touch screen to begin’ 2016. Display view, installation in public. Courtesy Kunstverein Arnsberg
Thanks to the whole team of the Kunstverein Arnsberg!! It was a crazy good week putting this together with a lot of help of many people, thank you everyone! THX to Vlado Velkov making all this possible! :))
———————————————————————————-
Pressrelease:
ARAM BARTHOLL
Remind Me Later
8.07. – 28.09.2016
Kunstverein Arnsberg e.V.
Königstraße 24
59821 Arnsberg
www.kunstverein–arnsberg.de
Perhaps you are reading this text on your mobile device?.
Do you have your phone under control or does it have a grip on you in its grip?
The consequences of technological developments on our social lives and relationships is a central theme in the work of Aram Bartholl.
In the current exhibition, Bartholl looks into the digital everyday live. ‘Remind me later’ is a very well known term for us instantly recognisable to us as users. As a form of reflex and self-defence against the constant stream of new automatic updates, we immediately the click tap othe ‘Remind me later’ button has become a habitual immediate reaction.
Digitalisation can undoubtedly connect us, but can also produce alienation. Meet with friends? Spend time outdoors in nature? Remind me later. Often, the mobile phone is more captivating of attention than the person sitting opposite. The limitless possibilities of communication have more to offer than real life? Really?
Aram Bartholl investigates the social side effects of digitalisation, and examines their influence on our analogue lives. In doing so, his work often incorporates outdoor space and blends perceptions of the real and the virtual. His work in Arnsberg continues in this vein, with humour and great sensitivity.
Aram Bartholl was born in Bremen in 1972 and lives in Berlin. He is guest professor at the Kunstakademie in Kassel and at UCLA in Los Angeles.
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All pictures -> flickr.com/photos/bartholl/albums/72157670961661206/with/28305068065/
 
 

Remind me later

June 18, 2016

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KUNSTVEREIN ARNSBERG
ARAM BARTHOLL
Remind Me Later
8.07. – 28.09.2016
Eröffnung der Ausstellung und Sommerfest im Garten des Kunstvereins
am Freitag, 8.07.2016, 19 Uhr
Kunstverein Arnsberg e.V.
Königstraße 24
59821 Arnsberg
www.kunstverein–arnsberg.de

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CryptoNails & KillYourPhone

May 17, 2016

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The workshop night at Machine Project in L.A. with Crypto Nails by Nadja Buttendorf and KILLYOURPHONE.COM  was very much fun! Thx to Machine Project for hosting this event!! & thx to the people for stat-us.org for inviting us!! Also thanks  to Simon Steiner from Otis for this super cool handmade screen print poster!!
http://machineproject.com/2016/events/kill-your-phone-crypto-nails/
Saturday, April 30, 8:00pm–10:00pm
1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA
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ALL PICTURES on flickr!!

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Teaching at DMA – UCLA

April 2, 2016

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Teaching at Design Media Art UCLA has been really fun so far!! Documentation of the undergrad Form class can be found here classes.dma.ucla.edu/Winter16/22 and more pictures here flickr.com/photos/bartholl/sets/72157666722216946
Cool student projects for this Spring quarter are already on the way!
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