Aqua

en de ru


johannes p osterhoff swims in
Aqua


Next-generation operation systems fascinate their users with new graphic effects, liquid animations, unclouded transparencies, striking drop shadows and with truly-colored buttons.

These interfaces especially in the last years have not only become very colorful — also the semantic layer has widened: depiction of promises and utopias, of progress and lifestyle have joined the metaphors (indeed necessary) to machine-interact.

johannes p osterhoff questions this enriched visual interface of state-of-the-art operating systems and shows that by now it has become possible to paint entire pictures with this additional visual information. He thus rises the question of the significance and values of such systems.

For the digital paintings of this project johannes p osterhoff only used elements from «Aqua» the graphical user interface from OS X by Apple Computer — among them scrollbars, menu-elements, buttons to close or minimize windows — to paint with these small digital fragments over-sized images for real space.

«Aqua» was initiated in 2005. Pictures of the «Aqua» series have been exhibited at the «European Media Art Festival 2006» in Osnabrück, Germany. «ABC Gallery» in Moscow presented new works and one classic, the c-base space station in Berlin recently showed the «Aqua Anthology».

Become an interface artist yourself! Therefore read, print and sign the Vow for Interface Artists.

By the introduction of the new OS «Microsoft Windows Vista» the «Aqua» series is partnered with the project «Aero».


Pictures:
1) «Aqua I» (sequence with 8 plates, 28 x 28 cm each)
2) «Star Bars» (105 x 68 cm)
3) «Truecolor» (two plates, over each other, each 40 x 40 cm)
4) «Aqua II: Float» (two plates, each 52 x 40 cm)
5) «Aqua II: Drops» (100 x 75 cm)
6) «Aqua II: Net» (100 x 75 cm)

Exhibitions:
1) Aqua I (Merz Akademie, Kulturnacht Stuttgart, October 22nd, 2005)
2) Aqua I (European Media Art Festival Osnabrück, May 10th till June 18th, 2006)
3) Aqua II (ABC Gallery Moscow, November 25th, 2006)
4) The Aqua Anthology (c-base Berlin, February 17th till 22nd, 2007)
5) «Starbars» und «Aqua II: Net» (ABC Group stand @ Art Moscow, May 16th till 20th, 2007)

Texts:
Exhibition at the Gallery Office ABC (in English and Russian)
«Aqua» in the Livejournal of Maxim Ilyukin (English and Russian)
My page as crewmember at the c-base

Involved firms:
Werner Schaufler GmbH (perspex)
Schöpfer GmbH & Co. KG (digital print, production)
Martin Stangl Gbr (production)

Made on a Mac :)

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