[spectre] radio astronomy in weimar, germany

[Honor Harger]

dear spectres,

below is an announcement about the exhibition r a 
d i o q u a l i a are opening tomorrow in weimar.

best wishes,

honor


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  R A D I O  A S T R O N O M Y
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An installation by r a d i o q u a l i a as part 
of the Weltall*Erde*Mensch exhibition
ACC Galerie Weimar
Weimar, Germany
http://www.radioqualia.va.com.au/epistemology/weimar.html

Date:		22 November 2008 - 11 January 2009
Address:		Burgplatz 1-2, 99423 Weimar, Germany

As part of the exhibition, Weltall*Erde*Mensch, r 
a d i o q u a l i a are exhibiting the 
installation, Radio Astronomy.

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WELTALL*ERDE*MENSCH

This contemporary art exhibition explores space 
in the era of particle accelerators and space 
tourism.  It features the work of over a dozen 
artists, including William Kentridge, William 
Lamson, Lucien Pelen, Maria Thereza Alves, 
Henrike Daum, Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil, Beate 
Engl, Katrin Gassmann, Anna Gierster, Florian 
Gwinner, G-Lab, Markus Wüste and  r a d i o q u a 
l i a.

The title of the exhibition refers to the book, 
Weltall Erde Mensch (Universe, Earth, Man), which 
until 1974, was given to all adolescents in the 
Socialist GDR, as part of the coming-of-age 
ceremony (Jugendweihe).  The book contained 
general knowledge about the human relationship to 
the physical and scientific environment, 
including a detailed section on astronomy. It was 
written from a Socialist propagandist perspective 
and tended towards presenting the future as a 
utopia to be brought about by technological 
progress.

The exhibition is curated by Tely Büchner and 
Silke Opitz, and is produced in cooperation with 
Erfurter Kunstverein e.V. For more information 
(in German), visit: 
http://www.acc-weimar.de/ausstellungen/a2008/a180/index.html

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RADIO ASTRONOMY

Radio Astronomy <http://www.radio-astronomy.net> 
broadcasts radio waves from space on the internet 
and inside the gallery. The project is a 
collaboration between the artists, r a d i o q u 
a l i a and radio telescopes located throughout 
the world.

Whilst optical astronomers use telescopes to look 
at the visible light emitted by stars, radio 
astronomers use radio telescopes, or antennae, to 
detect radio waves.  Whilst stars and planets are 
not directly audible, as sound waves can not 
propagate in the vacuum of space, it is possible 
for radio waves emitted from celestial bodies 
such as Jupiter and the Sun, to be heard by using 
radio technology.  These waves can be converted 
into sound using the same kinds of receivers 
which we use to listen to broadcast radio.  By 
combining radio astronomy with radio engineering, 
we can hear as well as see the stars, thus 
greatly expanding our sensory perception of the 
cosmos.

Visitors to the installation may hear the planet 
Jupiter and its interaction with its moons Io, 
Europa and Ganymede, radiation from the Sun, 
radio and plasma waves from Saturn, activity from 
far-off pulsars, and other astronomical phenomena.

The Radio Astronomy sound installation has been 
exhibited at ISEA in Helsinki; Ars Electronica in 
Linz; the ICC in Tokyo; the Santa Monica Art 
Institute in Barcelona as part of Sonar; at Oboro 
in Montreal, and in many other contexts.  It is a 
collaboration between r a d i o q u a l i a, New 
Zealand; the Windward Community College Radio 
Observatory (WCCRO) in Hawaii, USA; NASA's Radio 
Jove network, USA; the Ventspils International 
Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC), Latvia and RIXC, 
Latvia, with additional audio contributed by the 
University of Iowa's Plasma Wave Group, USA and 
Jodrell Bank's Pulsar Group, UK

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

r a d i o q u a l i a is an artist collective 
formed by New Zealanders Adam Hyde and Honor 
Harger, which creates radio and sound art.  Their 
work has been exhibited at the ICC in Tokyo, New 
Museum of Contemporary Art in New York; Gallery 
9, Walker Art Center in USA; Sonar in Barcelona; 
Ars Electronica in Austria; Artspace in New 
Zealand, among other places. Past r a d i o q u a 
l i a projects include The Frequency Clock (1998 
- 2003),  Free Radio Linux (2002 - 2004), and 
Polar Radio (2007).
http://www.radioqualia.net/epistemology/frame.html

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FURTHER INFORMATION

Getting there: ACC Galerie Weimar
Burgplatz 1+2
99423
Weimar
http://www.acc-weimar.de/


Map: 
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Burgplatz+1%2B2,+99423+Weimar,&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.219929,78.75&ie=UTF8&ll=50.981006,11.331325&spn=0.006836,0.019226&z=16&g=Burgplatz+1%2B2,+99423+Weimar,&iwloc=addr


Contact: r a d i o q u a l i a
Email: adam at flossmanuals.net   or   honor at va.com.au
Phone: +44 7765834272
http://www.radioqualia.net