SPACE
The Appropriation of Space
For me, space plays a central art-political role. It represents liberation from the two-dimensional representation that dominated artistic understanding for a long time. While abstraction in painting marked significant progress, the appropriation of space opened up entirely new artistic possibilities.
In painting, artists like Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and Wassily Kandinsky set groundbreaking milestones. They broke away from purely representational art and developed abstract compositions that paved the way for new dimensions of artistic expression. Malevich’s *Black Square* was more than a painting—it was a radical artistic statement that demanded new forms of representation and meaning-making.
This demand for new modes of expression inevitably led to the appropriation of space. The transition from the two-dimensional surface to three-dimensionality significantly expanded the artistic repertoire. Artists like Vladimir Tatlin, Marcel Duchamp, and László Moholy-Nagy established new standards in spatial art, fundamentally redefining the relationship between art and space.
Tatlin's *Monument to the Third International* was more than a structure—it was a spatial sculpture that actively occupied physical space through its kinetic and architectural elements. Duchamp’s *Readymades* similarly transcended traditional art boundaries by placing everyday objects into an artistic context, thus redefining the concept of space in art. Moholy-Nagy experimented with light, movement, and transparent materials, creating a dynamic relationship between artwork, space, and viewer.
The appropriation of space inevitably led to an extension into another dimension: time. Kinetic art, developed by artists like Jean Tinguely and Alexander Calder, transformed sculpture into a living, changing object. Space was no longer understood as static but as a dynamic process where movement and transformation played central roles.
This development in spatial art emerged primarily in the early 20th century and continues to shape modern art today. However, the conquest of space in art was not merely a formal extension but had profound social and political implications. Art broke away from representation, transcended the confines of the picture frame, and claimed real space as a stage for social and political processes.
When I speak of the appropriation of space, I do not mean the architectural achievements of early historical cultures, even though they actively shaped space. For me, architecture belongs to a separate artistic genre that has only indirectly influenced my work. My practice relates more to breaking free from flat surfaces and actively transforming space through movement, light, and interaction.
Space, for me, is not just physical expansion but also the potential to create new realities—both materially and conceptually. The appropriation of space is an ongoing process: a continuous expansion of what is visible and conceivable, a crossing of boundaries between reality and fiction, between art and life.
The Significance of Space in Contemporary Art
In my understanding of art, physics plays a crucial role. Space, for me, is defined by information that we receive through two separate sensory receptors. Primarily, it is our eyes and ears that create a spatial sensory impression. Through visual and auditory stimuli, we construct a mental map of our surroundings, enabling orientation and spatial awareness.
In the natural world, the sense of smell is highly spatially developed in certain species, serving as an essential navigation tool. However, in humans, this sense has diminished over the course of evolution, playing only a secondary role in spatial perception. In contrast, the sense of touch remains fundamental. Through touch and movement, we experience space physically, interpreting textures, distances, and boundaries directly through interaction with our environment.
Another key concept in understanding space is *chirality*, the asymmetrical structure found in living organisms. The mirrored symmetry of biological forms—such as the bilateral structure of the human body—reflects the spatial reality in which we exist. This inherent symmetry is not arbitrary but rather an evolutionary response to the spatial constraints of the physical world. For me, chirality symbolizes the dynamic interplay between form and space, illustrating how living beings adapt to and exist within their environments.
In contemporary art, the exploration of space has evolved far beyond traditional representations. Artists engage with space as a dynamic and interactive medium, moving from static depictions in painting and sculpture to immersive environments, installations, and performance art. Art no longer merely depicts space but actively shapes and transforms it, inviting the viewer to become a participant in the spatial experience.
This understanding extends to conceptual and digital art, where space is often reinterpreted as a virtual or psychological construct. In digital environments, spatial perception is generated through simulated sensory inputs, creating an entirely new realm where physical boundaries dissolve. Interactive installations and virtual reality experiences challenge our conventional notions of space by blending physical and digital dimensions.
Additionally, space in contemporary art is not limited to its physical or sensory aspects but also involves social, political, and cultural dimensions. Public art projects, urban interventions, and site-specific installations redefine how space is used, perceived, and contested in the modern world. Space becomes a platform for dialogue, critique, and transformation, reflecting the complexities of contemporary society.
In this context, I see space as more than a passive environment—it is an active medium of artistic exploration, shaped by sensory perception, physical interaction, and cultural meaning. The artistic engagement with space reflects an ongoing inquiry into how humans relate to their surroundings, both materially and conceptually. This multifaceted approach keeps the significance of space at the heart of contemporary artistic practice, bridging the realms of physics, biology, technology, and human experience.
How our Brain Processes Space
The perception of space is primarily mediated through electromagnetic fields, especially light. Our sensory organs are, in part, biological devices capable of detecting and processing electromagnetic waves. A particularly fascinating example is our eyes, which function like antennas, transforming electromagnetic radiation into electrical signals that are transmitted directly to the brain.
Similar to parabolic antennas that focus TV sattelite signals, the eyes concentrate incoming light using the lens onto the retina. There, light is converted into electrical impulses by specialized cells known as photoreceptors. These signals are transmitted via the optic nerve to the brain, where they are processed into a conscious image. The stereoscopic arrangement of our two eyes allows spatial perception, as the brain combines information from both perspectives to estimate distances.
Interestingly, the time difference in light travel between both eyes for a point 5 meters away is only about 220 picoseconds (0.22 nanoseconds). Light takes approximately 16.67 nanoseconds to reach the right eye and 16.88 nanoseconds to reach the left eye. This extremely small difference cannot be directly measured by the brain. Instead, the brain processes the slightly different viewing angles from both eyes, creating spatial perception. This process is similar to GPS triangulation, where a point in space is determined using signals from multiple satellites. Our eyes and brain operate on a similar principle but based on visual signals.
A remarkable fact is the speed at which our senses perceive space. Visual information processing occurs within milliseconds. In contrast, decision-making processes in the brain are relatively slow: it can take up to 400 milliseconds for the brain to respond to a visual stimulus. Our perception of the present is even averaged over about three seconds, giving us the illusion of a continuous reality.
In the late 1980s, I had the idea of overlaying a live image of the Moon taken from both New York and Europe onto a 3D headset I built in 1989. Simultaneously transmitting both images would have made the Moon appear three-dimensional—an experiment with real-time and spatial perception. Unfortunately, the idea was never realized due to a lack of interest from various festivals.
Exploring real-time played a central role in the sculptures of the 1980s. This directly relates to the concept of time, which is inseparably linked to space. Although I have largely abandoned the term “time,” the connection between space and time in art and science remains unavoidable. Why I now assume that time may not exist at all is explained in more detail in the final chapter on information.
Thus, consciousness in space is more than a biological ability—it is a complex interplay between electromagnetic perception, neurological processing, and conceptual interpretation. Our senses create the illusion of a stable, continuous space, while the physical processes behind it occur at a level that is almost unimaginably fast and precise. This discrepancy between physical reality and conscious experience is one of the most fascinating topics related to the perception and artistic exploration of space and time.
Electromagnetic Space
Not only light as an electromagnetic wave defines space. The electromagnetic spectrum is vast, ranging from kilometer waves to nanometer waves (light). Space and wavelength are inextricably linked through the speed of light. Frequency is directly related to the length of a conductive material, which has an intriguing sculptural significance. The wavelength results from the speed of light divided by the oscillation frequency of the electromagnetic wave. Therefore, all objects in three-dimensional space are also oscillating entities.
Different frequencies have specific propagation properties in space. Kilometer waves pass effortlessly through architectural barriers such as concrete walls and are even influenced by gravity. They can travel great distances because they are only minimally obstructed by physical barriers.
Millimeter waves, on the other hand, behave similarly to light. They create sharp shadows when encountering obstacles and can be reflected by metallic surfaces like a mirror. This property makes them particularly valuable for technical applications such as radar or communication systems.
I have created artistic works across the entire electromagnetic spectrum accessible to me. In these projects, I explore the interaction between space and wavelength, integrating the physical properties of frequencies into artistic design. The electromagnetic wavelength becomes a shaping element that alters the perception of space both physically and conceptually.
Here is an overview of my works related to different wavelengths and their artistic implementation.
Works in the Electromagnetic Spectrum:
| 790 THz- 430 THz | Visible Light | All Installations and Events |
| 10489,065 Mhz | Es'hail qo100 | STWST48x6 |
| 2455 Mhz | Microwave Gun | 2016 Eleonore Linz |
| 2430 Mhz | Funkfeuer | 2001 - Starting this Community WIFI with Silverserver, Team Teichenberg and Aaron Kaplan |
| 2400,085 Mhz | Uplink QO100 | 2020 STWST48x6 2021 STWST48x7 |
| 1694 Mhz | Meteosat 4 | 1989 Peter Weibel ars electronica, 1989 Raum um Raum Neue Galerie Graz, 1990 Aperto Biennale Venice, 1993 Stubnitz, 1987 Krems, 1991 Triennale Milano, 1992 Kunsthalle Bonn |
| 1421 Mhz | Hydrogen Astronomy | 1993 - 3m Dish Eferding OOE, 1996 Contained Linz, 1996 33 Meter Dish Sulpture Park Katzow, 2019 12m Dish STWST48x5 |
| 900 Mhz | GSM Mobilephonenon stop | 1994 - 3 People 3 days nonstop communication |
| 607,25 Mhz | Channel 38 Rotting Apple | 1994 Dead Dog Gallery, 1992 Stubnitz, 1991 Salzburger Kunstverein |
| 599,25 Mhz | Channel 37 The Electronic Gallery | 1994 Dead Dog Gallery, MAK Vienna, Werkstadt Graz, Salzburger Kunstverein, ars electronica, Ferdinandeum Innsbruck, Bregenzer Kunstverein, Ok Linz |
| 615,25 Mhz | Erreger Silber auf Leinwand | 1992 Stubnitz, Freihaus Vienna, Stadtwerkstatt Linz |
| 609,25 Mhz | Erreger Silber auf Leinwand | 1992 Stubnitz, Freihaus Vienna, Stadtwerkstatt Linz |
| 144,8 Mhz | Packetradio | 2003 - 2007 Medienkunstlabor Graz |
| 137 Mhz | Nooa Weathersatellites | 1998 Ars Elecronica, 1990 Neue Galerie Graz |
| 27,255 Mhz | Packetradio Tonga | 1997 Stadtwerkstatt Totes Gebirge |
| 27,245 Mhz | 2007 Beacon Franz Feigl 2021 Eleonore WSPR-NET | |
| 10 Mhz | consume and communications | 1986 Gallery V u V Vienna |
| 7067 khz | 7067 Its not a Test | 2016 Eleonore Linz |
| 7040 khz | https://funkfeuer.de | 2017 WSPR Beacon Eleonore, Stubnitz, Junix, Donautik |
| 7040 khz | STWST48x6 | I am still alive 2 |
| 1000 khz | Inform the Water | 2016 - 2018 Stadtwerkstatt Deckdock |
| 15khz | Thyristor Controlled Horizontal lines of TV | Der Falsche Fehler HS f Angewandte Kunst |
| 16 Hz | Human Loop | 1986 Gallery V u V Vienna |
| 7.83 Hz | Schuhmann frequency | 2017 Grounding consciousness fx |
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