source: naccaratoorg
A HUMAN BODY IS INJECTED IN A CISTERN. OVER THE COURSE OF 45 MINUTES, THE PRESSURE OF THE LIQUID EXERTS UPON HIM MULTIPLE NEUROSENSORIAL TRANSFORMATIONS. FROM HIS EPIDERMAL FIBER TO HIS NERVOUS SYSTEM, HE REACTS TO INFLUXES OF VISCOSITY IN THIS LIQUID CHAMBER. HIS CORTEX, LACKING OXYGEN, GRADUALLY LOSES ALL NOTIONS OF THE REAL. LIKE A HUMAN GUINEA PIG: A MATTER-BODY WHOSE PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES ARE THE OBJECT OF KINETIK TABLEAUX, OF SINGULAR TEMPORAL SPACES.

THE GENESIS OF THE PRINCIPAL VISUAL MATERIAL FOR THIS PROJECT WAS A SHOOT, IN AN IMMENSE CISTERN FILLED WITH WATER, WHICH LASTED SIX CONSECUTIVE DAYS. YSO HAD TO BE IMMERSED FOR OVER EIGHT HOURS A DAY IN THE GLASS TANK, OSCILLATING BETWEEN WEIGHTLESSNESS AND LACK OF OXYGEN. WITH THE AID OF VARIOUS DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDING AND PHOTOGRAPHIC SYSTEMS KOLGEN ASSEMBLED MANY SERIES OF TEMPORAL SEQUENCES, IMAGES THAT HE THEN ASSEMBLED INTO A FLEXIBLE AND MODULAR BODY. IT’S A MATTER OF A NARRATIVE PROGRESSION, IN PERPETUAL CIRCLES OF INFLUENCE AND MOVEMENT, WHERE THE REAL IS IN DISLOCATION.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

RECOGNIZED FOR HIS MULTIMEDIA CREATIONS FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, HERMAN KOLGEN IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WHO LIVES AND WORKS IN MONTREAL. A TRUE AUDIOCINETIC SCULPTOR, HE DRAWS HIS PRIMARY MATERIAL FROM THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOUND AND IMAGE. KOLGEN WORKS TO CREATE OBJECTS THAT ASSUME THE FORM OF INSTALLATIONS, VIDEO AND FILM WORKS, PERFORMANCES AND SOUND SCULPTURES. CONSTANTLY EXPLORING, HE WORKS AT THE JUNCTURES OF DIFFERENT MEDIA, AS WELL AS ELABORATING A NEW TECHNICAL LANGUAGE AND SINGULAR AESTHETIC.
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source: vimeo
Herman Kolgen is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Montreal. A true audiocinetic sculptor, he draws his primary material from the intimate relationship between sound and image. Kolgen works to create objects that assume the form of installations, video and film works, performances and sound sculptures. Constantly exploring, he works at the junctures of different media, as well as elaborating a new technical language and singular aesthetic.
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source: kolgennet
AN ACCLAIMED MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST WITH MORE THAN TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA ARTS, HERMAN KOLGEN LIVES AND WORKS IN MONTREAL. AN AUDIOCINETIC SCULPTOR, HE DRAWS HIS RAW MATERIAL FROM THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOUND AND IMAGE. KOLGEN CREATES PIECES THAT TAKE ON THE FORM OF INSTALLATIONS, VIDEO AND FILM WORKS, PERFORMANCES AND SOUND SCULPTURES. HE WORKS IN A CONSTANT CYCLE OF EXPLORATION, AT THE CROSSROADS OF DIFFERENT MEDIA, TO CONJURE UP A NEW TECHNICAL LANGUAGE AND A SINGULAR AESTHETIC.
THE IMPACT OF TERRITORIES ON HUMAN LIFE LIES AT THE HEART OF HIS CONCEPTUAL PURSUITS. THE RESULTING BRUTAL TENSIONS AS WELL AS THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN VARIOUS ELEMENTS CONSITUTE THE EPICENTRE OF HIS PRACTICE. HIS MULTIFACETED WORK IS CHARACTERIZED BY A RADIOGRAPHIC APPROACH. IT’S THIS X-RAY EFFECT, WITH ITS IMMATERIAL QUALITY, THAT ALLOWS THE INVISIBLE TO BE SEEN.
INITIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIGITAL AND ELECTRONIC REALMS ACROSS AN ASSORTMENT OF HIGHLY SENSITIVE WORKS, HIS APPROACH THEN TAKES A SHARP TURN TOWARDS INCREASINGLY HYBRIDIZED FORMS. HIS INSTALLATION PRACTICE ALSO INTEGRATES AN IMPORTANT SPATIALISATION COMPONENT, MOST NOTABLY REGARDING THE FIELD OF SOUND. THE DESIGN AND APPLICATION OF RANDOM SYSTEMS OF AUTOGENERATIVE IMAGE/SOUND ALSO ALLOW FOR THE CREATION OF AUDIOPHONIC SPACES MARKED BY THEIR IMMERSIVE QUALITY.
HERMAN KOLGEN’S WORKS HAVE MOST NOTABLY BEEN PRESENTED AT THE VENICE BIENNALE, ARS ELECTRONICA, BERLIN’S TRANSMEDIALE, ISEA, THE GEORGES POMPIDOU CENTRE, CIMATICS, DISSONANZE, MUTEK, ELEKTRA, SONAR, TAPEI DIGITAL ARTS AND SHANGHAI E-ARTS. HE HAS ALSO PERFORMED WITH PARIS’ ENSEMBLE INTERCONTEMPORAIN AND THE LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC. HERMAN KOLGEN HAS BEEN AWARDED MANY PRESTIGIOUS PRIZES, INCLUDING ARS ELECTRONICA, QWARTZ AND THE NEW YORK AND LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVALS’ BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM. FROM 1996 TO 2008, HE DEVOTED MUCH OF HIS CREATIVE OUTPUT TO THE SKOLTZ_ KOLGEN DUO.