robotlab

founded in, place
2000, Karlsruhe, Germany
Role at the ZKM
Guest Artist
Institute / Department
Institute for Visual Media
Members
Biography

robotlab works with industrial robots in public spaces. The artist group, founded at the beginning of 2000 by Matthias Gommel, Martina Richter (aka Martina Haitz) and Jan Zappe, develops experimental labs, performances and installations to explore the complex relationship between man and machine.

The specific qualities of the robots' movement and their computer-based control offer multifaceted possibilities of depicting digital codes in real space. Through robotlab's projects, machines which are normally situated in special industrial spaces are integrated into the context of art, invading various fields like music, dance and science. The serially produced industrial robots represent a potential culture of robots where machines, as everyday appliances, will have an influence on our daily lives.

Exhibitions/Presentations (selected)
2001»CYNETart Festival«, Festspielhaus Hellerau, Dresden [D], 16.-17.11.2001
 »FER - Festival d'Expériences Robotiques«, Frameries [B], 04.08.-02.09.2001
2002»Elektra Festival« Montreal [CA], 14.-16.11.2002
 »transmediale.02 [go public!]« Berlin [D], 05.-10.02.2002
 »Tanzfestival SIDance 2002« Seoul Art Center [KR], 05.-06.10.2002
2003»IMKP - Internationaler Medienkunstpreis«, ZKM Karlsruhe [D], 14.-23.11.2003
2004»GOG-BOT Media Art Festival« Enschede [NL], 31.10.-01.11.2004
 »Unter Strom« Kunsthalle Darmstadt [D], 20.06.-20.08.2004
 »ZKMax« München [D], 14.-16.10.2004
 »Robotix« Frameries [B], 13.03.-25.04.2004
2005»Robodock Festival« Amsterdam [NL], 21-24.09.2005
 »Wired Nextfest« Chicago [USA], 23.-26.06.2005
 »Timewarp Mannheim – green« Mannheim [D], 02.-03.04.2005
 »Bewegliche Teile« Kunsthaus Graz [A], 15.01.2005
2006»OFF-TIME! - robotlab-Einzelausstellung, Robot Museum Nagoya [JP], 12.10.2006-04.02.2007
 »Wired Nextfest« NY [USA], 28.09.-01.20.2006
 »STRP Art & Technology Festival« Eindhoven [NL], 24.-26.03.2006
2007»FASTFORWARD ON NEW MEDIA ART: ROBOTS«, PAN Neapel [IT], 08.11.-03.12.2007
 »Wired Nextfest« LA[USA], 13.-16.09.2007
 »Mücsarnok Kunsthalle Budapest [HU], 23.03.-28.05.2007
2008»ART Karlsruhe« Karlsruhe[D], 28.02.-02.03.2008 
2009»IMAGINING MEDIA@ZKM«, ZKM⎥Media Museum [D], 10.10.2009-31.12.2010
  
Projects (selected)
  • »jukebots« 2001 [Soundinstallation]
  • »zone« 2001/2 [Mensch-Maschine Dance Performance]
  • »autoportrait« 2002 [Interactive Installation]
  • »profiler« 2004 [Interactive Installation]
  • »instrument« 2005 [Soundinstallation]
  • »bios [bible]« · 2007 [Installation]
  • »manifest« 2008 [Installation]
[2009]