Unleashed. Early Explorations of Interactive Media in Visual Communication
In the 1990s, the introduction of simple programming languages and authoring programs allowed designers and artists to engage with interaction design without extensive computer science knowledge, enabling them to question the interface between user and computer and to critique both the technologies and the market-driven intentions behind them. This shift away from utility led to a poetic effect that parallels the work of Jean Tinguely.
The exhibition “unleashed” at Museum Tinguely invites visitors to rediscover the origins of interactive media in visual communication in Switzerland. It connects these early explorations with contemporary artistic experiments in technologies such as generative AI and virtual reality. The exhibition reveals surprising parallels with Jean Tinguely’s work and showcases a diverse array of experimental examples in the artistic and creative use of interactive media from the 1990s to today, featuring works by Demian Conrad, Ted Davis, Esther Hunziker, Dirk Koy, Jürg Lehni, and Pipilotti Rist, among others. “unleashed” focuses on outstanding historical projects that were long inaccessible due to technological changes. These projects are seen as precursors to game design, generative AI, and virtual reality. Using modern media archaeological methods, they have been restored and are now accessible for the first time on contemporary computer systems.
Website
tinguely.ch/en/exhibitions/exhibitions/2024/unleashed.html
Where
Museum Tinguely
Paul Sacher-Anlage 2
4002 Basel
Map
Google maps