INGO GUNTHER 'EXO/SPHERE'
June 8 - July 8

Universal Concepts Unlimited announces the opening of 'EXO/SPHERE,' an 
exhibition by Ingo Gunther, on Thursday June 8, 2000 (6-8 PM).

Ingo Gunther's media sculptures, installations and conceptual work exist at 
the crossroads of art, media, technology, politics and journalism. A central 
focus of Gunther's work, which he describes as "a kind of journalism 
employing visual aesthetic means," are ongoing information studies on 
civilization and the creation of Graphical Intuitive Interfaces ‹ 
navigational tools to grasp our world intellectually and emotionally. 
Gunther charts characteristics of our internationalized society and 
translates statistics into datascapes. His work both contextualizes and is 
contextualized by globality while pointing at the incomprehensibility of the 
totality of the world. The work reflects the problems of manipulation 
brought about by the visualization of data.

'EXO/SPHERE ' features documentation and data excerpts of Gunther's 
aesthetic information research in the form of prints, an installation, and 
renderings.

'World Series' consists of maps of America that depict a spectrum of 
statistical facts, ranging from political conflicts, socio-economical 
factors, and environmental problems to technological developments and the 
spreading of diseases. The 'World Series' is drawn from 'World Processor,' a 
series of globes that was begun in 1989 and translates global data into 
aesthetic codes, thus providing a sculptural cartography and graphic 
interface for navigating Earth. As 'World Processor,' 'World Series' is 
based on data from sources such as the U.N., OECD, and other organizations.

'EXO/SPHERE' is a selection of models and process renderings originally 
intended for studies in large-scale sculptures that ‹ with their 
unconditional nature ‹ demand their own space and actuality.

Two computers provide access to the 'World Processor' website 
(http://www.worldprocessor.com), a navigable archive of the project, and to 
Gunther's 'Refugee Republic' (http://www.refugee.net), a conceptual work. 
'Refugee Republic' seeks to establish an experimental, transglobal, 
supraterritorial state as a means for refugees to represent themselves 
worldwide and fuse their experiences into a global cooperative. This 
cooperative could ideally both accommodate investors and meet the need for a 
socio-economic and politico-ideological avant-garde, serving as a structural 
model for the rest of the world. The concept of the 'Refugee Republic' had 
its foundation in interviews and research the artist did during a several 
months long journey through refugee camps in SE Asia and further travels to 
refugee camps around the world.

For decades, Ingo Gunther has practiced journalism with artistic means in 
order to expand the objectives of the two realms. In his capacity as artist 
and correspondent, he worked extensively with Japanese TV (NHK), covering 
topics that ranged from media studies to military technology. In 1989, 9 
months before the reunification of Germany, he founded the first independent 
TV station in Eastern Europe, Channel X (Leipzig), contributing to the 
establishment of a free media landscape.

Ingo Gunther's works have been shown at the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim 
Museum, P3 Art and Environment,Tokyo, documenta VIII, and other 
international venues. His work is in the collection of ZKM,Karlsruhe, and 
P3. In 1998, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf (Germany) showed his first 
retrospective. In 1997, he received the ZKM/Siemens Media Award and in 1998, 
the Stankowski Prize.


Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11am - 6pm

--
Universal Concepts Unlimited
507 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011

Tel. 212.727.7575   Fax. 212.727.7676    [log in to unmask]


++++++++

Dr. Joseph Nechvatal

http://www.intelligentagent.com/satyricon.html
http://www.dom.de/groebel/jnech/
http://www.dom.de/groebel/jnech/ideals.htm
http://www.cybertheque.fr/galerie/jnech





"Like philosophy, art exceeds lived experience by creating an approach to 
chaotic virtuality."
-Tamsin Lorraine, "Irigarary and Deleuze : Experiments in Visceral 
Philosophy"




We form a rhizome with our viruses, or rather, our viruses make us form a 
rhizome with other creatures.
- Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, On The Line

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