“[The User] – Instruments 1997-2008”
Book launch event of the Québec Government Office in Berlin and Collegium Hungaricum Berlin
January 21st, 2015![2015.01.20._Norbert SaÌrosi_“[The User] – Instruments 1997-2008†pic01.png](content/images/2015.01.20._Norbert SaÌrosi_“[The User] – Instruments 1997-2008†pic01.png_960x960-s4.png)
[The User] was formed by Thomas McIntosh and Emmanuel Madan in Montréal in 1997 and has created numerous contemporary art works in the electronic and digital domains, garnering international recognition. Instruments 1997-2008 explores [The User]’s artistic output, considered as an ongoing investigation into the nature of the instrument. The duo’s collaborative projects re-imagine relationships between technological systems, culture and human experience in striking ways.
Formed in 1997 in Montreal, [The User] has attained wide international recognition in international media arts circuits. The Symphony for Dot Matrix Printers project has toured extensively on the international stage, while the ongoing Silophone project, active since 2000, transforms an abandoned grain elevator in the Port of Montreal into a musical instrument which is accessible across the globe via internet and telephone. In 2008, [The User] launched the first in a series of homages to György Ligeti entitled Coincidence Engines.
The collective has been awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including the Telefilm Canada Prize for Canadian New Media work (FCMM, Montreal, 1998), An Honourable Mention at Prix Ars electronica (Linz, 1999), an Honourable mention at Festival Interférences (CICV, Belfort, 2000), First Prize in the Performance Section of the FCMM (Montreal, 2001) and a Nomination to the Nam June Paik Prize (Kunststiftung NRW, Dortmund, 2004).
These works are examined by the book, soon to be launched, which talks about the work of the duo. The book launch is officially part of “transmediale 2015”.
The book has been co-published by Künstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin) and /Undefine (Montréal) as part of Emmanuel Madan’s residency at the Québec Studio of Künstlerhaus Bethanien’s International Studio Programme, with the generous support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for the Arts.
The event will take place on Thursday, January 20th between 3 and 5 pm in the home of Collegium Hungaricum Berlin, Dorotheenstr. 12, 10117 Berlin.
![2015.01.20._Norbert SaÌrosi_“[The User] – Instruments 1997-2008†pic02.png.jpg](content/images/2d2bd515979369159eebebf05581c28d.jpg)
References and Links
- For more information: http://www.transmediale.de/content/book-launch-the-user-instruments-1997-2008
Berlin Global
