Till Nowak: A Lot Of Civilisation / Interview with Digital Artist Till Nowak

Till Nowak is a digital artist, designer and filmmaker based in Hamburg. On the occasion of his solo exhibition within the framework of the festival Sommer.Frische.Kunst in Bad Gastein (Austria) we met with the artist at the old power station of the town. In this video, Till Nowak talks about his series of fictional amusement park rides, and his artistic work in general.

The exhibition in the turbine hall of the old power station of Bad Gastein is entitled A lot of Civilisation. The show presents an overview of Till Nowak’s recent works, such as Dishes (2007), Habitat (2012), Kelvin (2010), and Souvenirs (2007, an experimental video produced in collaboration with Till Nowak’s brother, Nik Nowak). The main piece of the exhibition is the workgroup The Experience of Fliehkraft (The experience of centrifugal force), which presents fictional amusement park rides via seven videos, prints, and a video documentary.

The Experience of Fliehkraft is a series of seven construction plans of physically impossible amusement rides and the corresponding videos of the carousels in action. The Centrifuge Brain Project is a seven-minute mockumentary about the fictional scientific background of the project. The extreme rides are “caricatures of civilisation. In todays fun parks people are centrifuged by gigantic robots – an expression of our desire to escape and find happiness somewhere above the ground.” (Till Nowak). The Experience of Fliehkraft was awarded with an Honorary Mention at “¨Ars Electronica in Linz as well as Jury’s runner up at Siggraph 2011.

Till Nowak was born in 1980. He lives and works in Hamburg, Germany. He graduated in media design at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz, Germany. Since 1999 he works as computer graphics artist. His works have been exhibited in international film festivals. He has been awarded more than 40 first prizes such as the AFI Fest Hollywood.

Till Nowak: A lot of Civilisation. Interview with Till Nowak. Sommer.Frische.Kunst Festival, Bad Gastein. Altes Kraftwerk am Wasserfall, Bad Gastein (Austria), August 18, 2012.

> Right-click (Mac: ctrl-click) this link to download Quicktime video file.

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