The Contour of Stars – New Directions in Science, Business, and Art

How is novelty created in science, business, and art? An interdisciplinary salon talk and a concert by Ensemble Modern take on this question. The highlight will be the premiere of a new work by the Israeli composer Emmanuel Witzthum, which was created as part of his creative residency at the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT.

In what ways can science, business, and art really bring forth something new? What processes and frameworks, what skills are required? Where are the differences and similarities between the disciplines? And what role do luck and chance play?

In his creative residency at the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT in the fall of 2021, the musician and artist Emmanuel Witzthum engaged with precisely these questions. He accompanied ZEISS employees during the brainstorming, implementation, and presentation of innovation projects, observed the Hub team in their everyday work, and actively introduced artistic approaches and ways of thinking into scientific practice.

Witzthum brought these experiences to bear on his new work The Contour of Stars. The heart of the composition is a graphic score that visualizes the processes of thought, discussion, and negotiation that characterized the collaboration. To complement Witzthum’s piece, Ensemble Modern will perform other works based on graphic notation.

Ensemble Modern is one of the world’s best-known and leading contemporary music performance groups, describing itself as “a curious loudspeaker for music of our times: courageous, uncompromising, energetic. ” The internationally renowned live coder Flor de Fuego will accompany the ensemble’s guest performance at ZKM | Karlsruhe with visuals generated in real time, allowing the experimental form of notation to be experienced sensually.