STRP Festival 2011

The theme of the fifth edition of the STRP Festival is the 50-year history of Dutch media and technological art. Together with the pioneers, today’s heroes and future talents, STRP EXPO will serve as an exciting combination time capsule, snapshot and crystal ball to explore the past, present and future. What can these cutting edge works tell us about the future of technological art?

Curator Vivian van Gaal: “STRP leads the way in presenting media art as a fully-fledged art form to a wide and diverse audience. From this perspective we have chosen works that are not only iconic but also evoke amazement, are accessible and provide an actual experience.”

The work by trail-blazing pioneers from the past and present is displayed alongside the most striking projects created by the new generation. Visitors travel through time, taking the giant leap from Dick Raaijmakers’ first experiments with electronic music in the 1950s to Daan Roosegaarde’s latest installations in which technology has become indiscernible to the point where you can literally see right through it. The exhibition includes the first video installations and interactive artworks, including the iconic Legible City by Jeffrey Shaw and work by other pioneers in the 1980s, including Erik Hobijn whose Suicide Machine created tremendous controversy at the time. Relive the dawn of the gaming era with JODI, who created the first Internet art and remixed old video games as worldwide web art innovators.

Once again, the massive industrial halls inside the Klokgebouw will be used to their full advantage this year. A couple of huge impact works will be on display in the concert halls, such as the classic Spatial Sounds by Edwin van der Heide and Marnix de Nijs. Experience firsthand the sensation of being intimidated by this audio installation, which detects your presence at 100dB and goes after you at a speed of 100 km/h. Be dazzled by the most electronic and sparkling starry sky ever seen in Edwin van der Heide’s Evolving Spark Network.

Plenty of attention is paid to the newest generation of artists who offer us a glimpse into the future, too. What awaits us? For many people, developments in the field of technology are happening so fast that it is impossible to keep up. How do we communicate? How are we connected to each other and our mobile gadgets? How do we see the world? STRP EXPO brings the answers to these questions a little closer, and most of all offers you an opportunity for hands-on experience. Meet Tibb, the World’s First AR Rabbit. AR stands for Augmented Reality, which means that Tibb the Rabbit can be distributed everywhere digitally. Or check out Nano Chair 2.0. Measuring a mere 3 microns, it is the world’s smallest chair. The Palm Top Theater features 3D films for your mobile, which were designed by several artists exclusively for the STRP EXPO.

The choice to exhibit a combination of pioneers, today’s heroes and future talents results in a lively timeline that stretches from the past to the present and into the future, revealing new connections and cross-links. In other words, art loves technology during STRP Festival 2011!

The STRP Festival will be held 18 – 27 November 2011 in the Klokgebouw in Eindhoven (NL).

Highlights of the STRP EXPO include Bill Spinhoven, Erik Hobijn, JODI, Jeffrey Shaw, Marnix de Nijs, Edwin van der Heide, Geert Mul, Daan Roosegaarde, Sander Veenhof and the Palm Top Theater. STRP is proud to present this exhibition in cooperation with V2, NIMk, STEIM, Optofonica and others.

In addition to art, there is much more to experience at the festival, such as international music acts, film, live cinema, performances, symposium and dance. STRP Festival will announce the musical line-up towards the end of August and early September.

STRP Festival 2011
Highlights of Dutch technological art
Ort: Klokgebouw, Eindhoven
Kurator: Vivian van Gaal

Künstler: Bill Spinhoven, Erik Hobijn, JODI , Jeffrey Shaw, Marnix de Nijs, Edwin van der Heide, Geert Mul, Daan Roosegaarde, Sander Veenhof, Palm Top Theater  ...