Seven Screens – Osram Art Project 2010, Munich

Since 2006 the SEVEN SCREENS have enhanced the public space of Munich, using state of the art LED technology, the screens combine art and light.

Haubitz+Zoche developed a cinematic concept that focuses on the ambivalent power of water for the SEVEN SCREENS. The work’s title was inspired by the film Metropolis, which takes place in a futuristic city in the year 2027. In the video installation, 2027, rows of buildings in a fictitious metropolis are flooded. The facades of the skyscrapers and the bizarre structures are reflected in the water; the streets are empty and seem to have been abandoned. The surrounding space depicts an undefined void and no specific context exists either in time or space, nor is there a definite classification to any specific architectural style.

The camera’s view shows close up shots of the facades in a flooded and expansive interior space. Two people are floating in the water and, with strange and almost weightless movements, seek to balance themselves. Like a second level, the water’s horizon traverses the SEVEN SCREENS. A subtle game played using unusual perspectives above and under the water’s surface causes the viewer’s vantage point to constantly shift. 2027 seems to be a surreal futuristic vision – images of suggestive beauty, which at times also contain threatening elements.

Since the SEVEN SCREENS were installed, eight local and international artists have developed varied and exciting works. In each of the first three years two artists were commissioned to developed site-specific projects leading to the creation of a collection representing diverse approaches to this art platform.

“The public’s positive reactions,” claimed the curator and director of OSRAM ART PROJECTS, Dr. Christian Schoen, “led us to change the installation cycle last year. We now alternate between new installations and ones from our archive.” The company’s art platform includes the OSRAM COLLECTION and OSRAM ART PROJECTS.

SEVEN SCREENS artists include Mader/Stublić/Wiermann (2006), Diana Thater (2007), Haubitz+Zoche (2007), Anouk De Clercq (2008), Art+Com (2008), Bjorn Melhus (2009), Ruri (2009) and Harun Farocki.

Photo: Haubitz+Zoche.  2007.  Video installation on LED screens.

http://www.osram.com/art