AGRICOLA DE COLOGNE | Germany |
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AGRICOLA de Cologne & his principle of SAMAC The principle of SAMAC represents one of Agricola’s experimental ways of creating multi-media art works for and in Internet environment. Most of his “Moving Pictures” (collected in his ‘Moving Picture Collection’) - whether video-like or interactive – were created according the principle of SAMAC in the framework of his global net art project “A Virtual Memorial”. The artist uses his knowledge and a variety of creative talents
in order to develop his individual interdisciplinary language of
electronic composing/writing by using words (text ), image and sound
(music and spoken words) at the same time. The basis is broad: performing
arts: he played longer than 15 years violin, studied classical singing,
acting (actor’s school, pantomime, classical and modern dance,
tap, or in visual arts: he studied graphic, photography, painting,
has a profound knowledge in digital and electronic arts including
a variety of computer languages; and a broad intellectual, theoretical
basis through his studies of journalism, history of art and dramatic
arts, further a talent for organising, and finally the talent to
create an environment where all the described component can interact. One fundamental condition and a particular element of tension represents a profound knowledge and experience in all those media disciplines to be used - rather driven by associating and the chaos principle – corresponding and communicating with each other internally as well as externally with the code driven hardware and software. Having all that spiritualised, the desired mutual inspiring effect progresses. Musical components play, in general, an important role in Agricola’s art working. As he states, only “when he has music inside”, all his creative powers are flourishing up. This kind of music coming deep from the bottom of his soul, manifests itself externally through the artist’s voice, it represents the fertile soil on which he is able to prepare his work like a gardener (not to be mixed up with sound and music as part of the final art work). His concentration is always focussed on the whole, even if the final result is completely unknown, yet. Since the involved components do not stand alone or come up sometimes later and are combined, merged or assimilated at a later state, but communicate with each other simultaneously during the process, the unity of the work comes up in an act of highest concentration, which mostly does not need any additional correction afterwards (even if different project versions should be created at a later state). Another strong composition element represents the ‘dèjá
vu’ effect. In the entire working of his NewMediaArtProjectNetwork,
Agricola uses a large variety of different media sources. Not visible
or recognisable while viewing a single art work, but only when surfing
through the entire universe of the online projects, the user will
become aware that certain motives, image/sound elements look or
sound familiar, since he has seen/heard it at another work/place.
Like making a collage, Agricola uses certain key media elements
such as image, sound or word as a kind of templates, which can be
replaced through any other key media elements, also in a random
manner. Placed or transmitted into a new environment these media
elements get a completely different and new meaning. It belongs
to the artistic intention to create a common level or environment
within the universe of online projects where all works and the embedded
media elements can interact. ‘The principle of ‘Simultaneous Associative Media Art
Composing uses all the described elements in order to create works
in an individual way of experimental, electronic writing, which
can be defined in a narrow and broader sense, as poetry. Only a small scale of software applications are actually used:
Besides Adobe ‘Photoshop’ (and connected plug-ins),
Sonic Foundry’s ‘Sound Forge’ and ULEAD ‘Media
Studio Pro’, it is, above all, the developing environment
of Flash (Macromedia) which corresponds and communicates perfectly
with Agricola’s associative working system enforcing intuitively
any artistic idea on different levels. 2002 |
