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10 September 2023
Vienna Contemporary Insights: Fashion.at's impressions of the scents, fabric-related artworks and digital design perspectives at the international art fair in Vienna
Fashion.at was invited to the press conference and the VIP day of the Vienna Contemporary on 7 September but postponed the visit to a regular date, the 9th September, in order to get an unfiltered impression of the art fair and its allover atmosphere.
This year, the art fair is taking place until today, 10 September, in the palace-like spa pavilion Kursalon Wien, built in the 19th century in the style of historicism in the city park Stadtpark. Upon entering the building, which is flooded with sunlight and appears airy and light due to its architecture, the fragrance provided by Vienna Contemporary partner Zielinski & Rozen enhances this impression. The 850 ml diffuser, reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century medicine bottle, with the elegant scent 'Old Fashion', had an invigorating effect on this hot day in Vienna, with temperatures reaching 30° Celsius, and combined well with the garden air from the Stadtpark.
The first booth that caught the eye of Fashion.at was the stand of the gallery Georg Kargl, which is known for its fine taste and the good 'nose' for choosing artists. Fashion.at spoke with Melanie Wagner from the Georg Kargl team about the works of Nadim Vardag (born 1980 in Germany, lives and works in Vienna), a wall sculpture built from a modified frame with enclosed fabric and filled with resin. Right beside the sculpture, the gallery presented Nadim Vardag's study of the materiality of fabric as drypoint.
The next artwork that attracted Fashion.at was the silver ball with laced textile material growing out from a disco ball like limbs. The object by Denisa Lehocká (born 1971 in Slovakia, lives and works in Bratislava) has no title but the first impression matches the information about the materials used. The silver ball is a metal tuning instrument for music instruments and for the textile parts, Denise Lehocká used nylon stockings and cotton threads. Fashion.at was told that the work has no title, so that the viewer can form an uninfluenced impression.
Images: The picture left shows the diffuser with the scent 'Old Fashion' by Zielinski & Rozen. Right: Melanie Wagner of the gallery Georg Kargl standing in front of the works of Nadim Vardag and Denisa Lehocká.
Fashion.at walked through several salons on the ground floor and then up to the mezzanine, where the Verlag für moderne Kunst presented books about art and books and goods written and made by artists, such as the 'Artist Robe' by Vienna-based artist Michalea Putz. The artist studied Art & Science under the direction of filmmaker and multimedia artist Virgil Widrich at the University of Applied Arts and Communication Science at the University of Vienna. Michaela Putz combines both studies for her approach to mediate topics such as in the case of the robe, the extinction of plant species. Fashion.at spoke with Silvia Jaklitsch, publisher and managing director of the Verlag für moderne Kunst, and a member of her team about the photographic work on the robe, the 'Extinction Ballads' series, which is available as an art print and is also used for a practical notebook or the robe, which is limited to 15 pieces. The print features found footage of a recently extinct or critically endangered plant species photographed from a computer screen. The analog element representing the presence of humans is the dust, fingerprints, and dirt on the screen, which, when magnified, alters the original image.
Image: Silvia Jaklitsch, publisher and managing director of the Verlag für moderne Kunst, standing in front of the 'Artist Robe' by Michaela Putz.
At first glance, the mezzanine seems more like a 'stopover' connecting only two floors than a central playground. In fact, the mezzanine is the best place to present the intersection of different art disciplines, such as in the case of Michalea Putz between digital art, photography, and fashion, or in the case of Spencer Chalk-Levy's prominently placed work. The Vienna Collectors Club presented the work 'Self-Reflections' - mirrors in a golden baroque frame installed on a tapisserie - by Spencer Chalk-Levy, who talks in a video on the club's Instagram about the use of technologies for the creation of the 3D-printed mirrors.
The mezzanine is the place where explorations of unknown spaces really happen! In the 'VCT Activation' room, people sat on a bench waiting to dive into the VR artwork by Christiane Peschek. VCT Activation is a collaboration with Meta and the Museum of Applied Arts Vienna, where the talk 'Design and Engagement - Digitalization in a Globalized World' happened later.
Fashion.at was already registered for the talk and unfortunately there was no time to dive into the VR artwork, which according to an exhibition staff member is a relaxing experience.
After a five-minute walk, Fashion.at reached the museum. Marlies Wirth, curator of the Digital Culture and Design Collection at the MAK, moderated the talk, which began with insights from Meta's head of brand design, Zach Stubenvoll, into the creation of Meta's brand language. The brand design represents the self-image of a company that didn't start out as a business and, according to Zach Stubenvoll, pursues values that stem from its historical roots.
When the Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister, who was born in Vorarlberg, studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and is now living in New York, entered the stage, the applause greeted a frequent and, for many, well-known guest in the city. The works he presented were not new to many, as Stefan Sagmeister is Austria's most popular graphic designer, building bridges between the applied arts (design) and art.
New this evening was the third speaker, Paula Strunden, virtual reality artist, founder of XR Atlas, doctoral candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The artist lives in Vienna and Amsterdam and impressed with her approach as a trained architect to explore and generate human senses in virtual spaces such as gravity.
In the panel discussion that followed, one of the questions was whether she had any plans to incorporate scent into virtual experiences. Paula Strunden pointed out that new developments need to be approached with care and consideration, as scents trigger emotions and memories.
Image, from left: Marlies Wirth, Curator of the Digital Culture and Design Collection at the MAK, Zach Stubenvoll, Head of Brand Design at Meta (San Francisco, US), Stefan Sagmeister, Designer, Sagmeister Inc (New York, US), Paula Strunden, Virtual Reality Artist, Founder of XR Atlas, Doctoral Candidate at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (Vienna, AT/Amsterdam, NL).
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