Mnemocity

MNEMOCITY. A temporary architecture of knowledge

Do cultures evolve? A meme, like a gene, does not purposely do or want anything – it either gets replicated or not. (Richard Dawkins)

The work deals with visualizing the unseen. A paradox attempt of course. How to make the memory which is stored, the knowledges which emerge from and ideas oscillating in and around cities temporarily visible?

A subjective selection of more than 150 books (of authors who lived, thought, wrote and worked in Vienna) serves as a basis for constructing a fabric of information – a multi layered library, an analogue hypertext. The chosen extracts of text are simultaneously translated via text-to-speech programmes and are being whispered from several loudspeakers.

Here knowledge does find its expression through words by developing multi-dimensional language topographies – fleeting figures of thought (Denkfiguren) are unfolding the readability of cities as a model of the readability of cultures.

Watch the afiliated Mnemocity Lecture Performance Video (2005)

Title: Mnemocity
Concept & Realisation: Nikolaus Gansterer

Year: since 2005

Materials: paper, text, nylon, neon tubes, loudspeakers

Dimensions: variable

Exhibitions:

– 2005, „Lebt und arbeitet in Wien II“, Kunsthalle Wien

– 2006, „Riss, Lücke, Schanier A“ Galerie nächst St.Stephan / Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Vienna

– 2010, „Ohne Titel“, Medienturm, Graz

Publications:

– Content/Form/Im-material, Context.net. (Sabine Hochrieser, Michael Kargl, Birgit Rinagl,Franz Thalmair) (Eds.), English, 264 p., Verlag für moderne Kunst, 2011ISBN 978-3869841878

– Rift/Gap/Hinge A, Heinrich Dunst & Walter Pamminger (Eds.), Galerie nächst St.Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder, Verlag Scheidegger & Speiss, 2010, with essays by Rainer Bellenbaum/Sabeth Buchmann, Heinrich Dunst, Patricia Grzonka and Walter Pamminger. German/English, 228 pages, ISBN 978-3-85881-301-5

– Parole#1, The Body of the Voice, Annette Stahmer (Ed.), Salon Verlag, Cologne, 2009, ISBN 978-3-89770-320-9

– Lebt und Arbeit in WIen / Living and Working in Vienna, Lucas Gehrman, Gerald Matt, Sonja Gruber, Georgia Holz (Eds.), catalogue, Kunsthalle Wien, 2005, ISBN 3-85247-057-9

– Checkpoint Charley, Maurizio Cattelan, Massimiliano Gioni, Ali Subotnick (Eds.) BB4, KW Berlin, 2006  ISBN 3-9804265-6-4

Reviews:

– „Die Schrift und ihre Bilder“, Christoph Winder, Der Standard (Online), 2011

– „Das Netz und der Tod des Autors“, U.T., Falter 26, 2010, p.51

– „Von Autoren und Kunstgeplapper“, Martin Gasser, Krone 19.6.2010, p.58

– „Zwischen Sichtbarem und Sagbarem“, Manisha Jothady, Die Presse, 28.12 2006, p.28

– „Stören der verordneten Ordnungssysteme“, Sonderausgabe – Lebt und Arbeitet in Wien II, Kurier, 2005, p.2

– „Lebt und arbeitet in Wien II“, Rainer Metzger, in: Kunstforum, Band 177, p. 418, 2005.

– „Perlen auf der Baustelle“, Nicole Scheyerer, in: Die Presse online. 19.05.2005

– „Leben im Verbund“, Markus Mittringer, in: Der Standard online. 12.05.2005