Sommerer & Mignonneau

Christa Sommerer, born in 1964 in Ohlsdorf/Gmunden, Austria, and Laurent Mignonneau, born in 1967 in Angoulême.

Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau work in an intermediate field between art, science and technology. On the basis of simulations of artificial life, they develop creative environments for interaction and involve visitors in the work process. The confrontation of real and virtual systems requires conscious interaction, and highlights the mutual influence and co-operation of the two models. 

Christa Sommerer
1982-85 Studied Biology and Botany at the University of Vienna
1985-90 Studied Sculpture at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna (Master of Art)
1991-93 Postgraduate studies with Peter Weibel at the Städelschule, Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt/Main
2022 Ph.D. degree from CAiiA-Star (Prof. Roy Ascott), University of Wales College of Art, Newport

Laurent Mignonneau
1984-88 Studied Applied Art at the École Technique, Angoulême (national diploma, DNAP)
1988-91 Studied at the Academy of Pictorial Arts (national diploma, DNESP) and studies in Video and Computer Graphics at the Centre National de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image (CNBDI), Angoulême
1991-93 Postgraduate studies with Peter Weibel at the Städelschule, Institut für Neue Medien, Frankfurt/Main
2002 Ph.D, degree Kobe University Department of Engineering, Kobe

Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau
since 1992 working together
since 1995 Artistic Directors & Researchers at the ATR Media Integration and Communications Research Laboratories, Kyoto
1996 organisers of the »ART-Science-ATR« Symposium, Kyoto
1997 Editors of the book »Art @ Science«, Springer Verlag, Vienna/New York
1997-1999 Associate Professors at the International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS), Gifu
2000 Guest Professor, University of Art and Design, Linz
2001-2004 Associate Professor, International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (IAMAS), Gifu
2004-now Professor, InterfaceCulture Lab, Institute for Media, University of Art and Design, Linz
2015 Chaire Internationale Paris 8 University, ATI Labex
2017 Visiting Professor, Tsukuba University, Empowerment Informatics Program Department

Joint awards/Scholarships (selection)
1992 Prisma Prize for Computer Art from the Mediale, Hamburg
1993 Artists in residence at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), Beckmann Institute, Urbana, Illinois
1994 Silicon Graphics Award from the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA), Helsinki
1994 Multi Media Award from the Multi Media Association, Tokyo
1994 Golden Nica in the Interactive Art category from the Prix Ars Electronica, Linz, for »A-Volve«
1994-95 Artists in residence at the NTT, InterCommunicationCenter (ICC), Tokyo
1995 Ovation Award from the Interactive Media Festival, Los Angeles
1995 Inter Design Award from the Japan Inter Design Forum, Tokyo
2001 Visiting Research Fellow, MIT, Center for Advanced Visual Studies, Cambridge/Boston

Solo exhibitions (selection)
1993 »museum in progress«, Österreichisches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Vienna; »Imagina 94«, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1994 NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC), Tokyo
1996 Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn
1997 Center for the Arts, Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
2000 Akademie der Künste – Time Travel Exhibition, Berlin
2012 THE VIEW Contemporary Art Space, Salenstein

Group exhibitions (selection)
1992 »Junge Szene«, Sezession, Vienna
1993 »Binaera: 14 Interactions - Art and Technology«, Kunsthalle Wien; »L'epreuve numerique«, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
1994 »Intelligente Ambiente - Ars Electronica '94«, Linz; Museum of Modern Art, Helsinki; »Artifices 3«, Salle de la Legion d'honneur, Paris
1995 »Triennale di Milano«, Palazzo dell'Arte, Milan; „ARTEC '95 - The 4th international Biennale in Nagoya«, Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya; »Kwangju Biennale«, Info Art Pavilion, Kwangju, Korea Center of Contemporary Art, Warsaw; »ArsLab - I Sensi del Virtuale«, Extra-Museum, Turin
1995-96 »Revue Virtuelle«, Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris
1996 »Biennale d'Art Contemporain de Lyon«, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon; Henie Onstad Kunstcenter, Oslo; »Wunschmaschine Welterfindung«, Kunsthalle Wien
1997 »InterAct! - Schlüsselwerke Interaktiver Kunst«, Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg
2003 Ars Electronica 2003 – CODE the language of the time«, Linz
2005 »Science + Fiction«, Miraikan – Naional Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, Tokyo
2017 »Aesthetics of change«, MAK Vienna
2019 »Writing the history of the future, ZKM | Karlsruhe
2021 »BioMedien«, ZKM | Karlsruhe
2022 »Hacking Identity«, Esch Visitor Center, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
2022 »KINETISMUS: 100 Years of Electricity in Art«, Kunsthalle Prague

Museums/Collections
»Trans Plant«, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; »Trans Plant II«, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; »Intro Act«, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon; »A-Volve«, NTT Tokei, Nagoya; »Genma, Memesis - Die Zukunft der Evolution«, Ars Electronica Center, Linz; »Lift Space«, NTT InterCommunication Center, Tokyo; »Interactive Plant Growing«, ZKM | Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe

Literature (selection)
Sommerer, Christa, Mignonneau, Laurent: "Interactive Plant Growing & Anthroposcope", Gerbel, Karl; Weibel, Peter (ed.): »Ars Electronica 93 - Genetische Kunst - Künstliches Leben, Vienna 1993; Boissier, Jean-Louis; Duguet, Anne-Marie; Terrier, Liliane (ed.): »Artifices 3 - Mise en mémoire/Accès à la mémoire - Installations Laboratoire Bibliothèque«, Saint-Denis 1994; ICC Gallery (ed.): »Interactive Plant Growing - A-Volve«, Tokyo 1994; Frauenfelder, Mark: "The Interactive Life of Plants", »Wired«, Ventura 1994; Druckey, Timothy; Goldman, Lisa (ed.): »lnteractive Media Festival«, Los Angeles 1995; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent: "Intro Act", Reunion des Musée Nationaux (ed.): »Biennale d'Art Contemporain de Lyon«, Lyon 1995; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent: "lnteractive Plant Growing and Phototrophy", Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou (ed.): »Revue Virtuelle«, Paris 1996; Goodman, Cynthia (ed.): »Info Art«, New York 1996; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent: "GENMA", Stocker, Gerfried; Schöpf, Christine (ed.): »Ars Electronica 96 - Memesis - The Future of Evolution, New York 1996; IAMAS International Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (ed.): »The Interaction '97- Toward the Expansion of Media Art«, Ogaki 1997; Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg (ed.): »InterAct! - Schlüsselwerke Interaktiver Kunst«, Ostfildern 1997; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent: "Trans Plant", Lovejoy, Margot: »Postmodern Currents - Art and Artists in the Age of Electronic Media«, New Jersey 1997; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent (ed.): »Art @ Science«, Vienna, New York 1998; Sommerer, Christa; Mignonneau, Laurent; King Dorothée (ed.): »Interface Cultures –  Artistic Aspects of Interaction«, Bielefeld 2008.