Art's Birthday 2011

It happened just at that moment “someone dropped a dry sponge in a container full of water”: Art was born! After making this terse observation in 1963, Fluxus artist, Robert Filliou, then went on to remark: “Modest beginnings, but now look at us.” The said event occurred precisely on its birthday, the 17 January, one million years ago. This must now be celebrated, and preferably by “international school holidays, paid vacation for employees throughout the world, and spontaneous celebrations and merrymaking around the globe” – something which also what happened... Filliou is celebrating the tenth Art’s Birthday with a public party in the Neuen Galerie Aachen. Since his death in 1987, artists have been continuing birthday festivities worldwide, as inspired by the concept of art as “The Eternal Network” or “La Fête permanente”. Different events are also taking place various at locations: from rendezvous at private studios through to performance evenings in the broadcasting company. The condition is that it is possible to broadcast or receive “birthday presents” from any location. Since 2005, the Ars Acustica Group of the European Broadcast Union (EBU) has been organizing such acoustic presents, and exchanges them, via the EBU satellite channels Verdi and Ravel, between the internationally participating radio stations.
On the occasion of this birthday, SWR2 is organizing a four-hour live concert at the ZKM with renowned artists,namely, the Institut für Feinmotorik and To Rococo Rot; works by students of the HfG will also be exhibited.

Institut für Feinmotorik Marc Matter, Mark Bruederle, Daniel van den Eijkel & Florian Meyer
The IFF has focussed its work on a reduced DJ-composition from 8 record players and 4 DJ mixers which it has developed itself – though without the use of records. Instead, all kinds of household materials (paper scraps, elastic bands, pieces of cardboard, wire, trash etc.) are placed on the record players: their sounds are picked up by the needle and translated into sounds, noises, and music by their movement which rotates like a record. For Art's Birthday 2011, the quartet will be playing a set especially prepared for the event in accordance with Fluxus.

To Rococo Rot Stefan Schneider, Ronald Lippok & Robert Lippok
To Rococo Rot have put together a quirky wall of sound assembled from noises, samples and analogue recordings
of classical instruments. One critic aptly attested to the trio as producing “Minimal Kraut”. In a piece especially developed for Art's Birthday the Trio will “play” the Fluxus score “Grapefruit”, by Yoko Ono at the ZKM.

Moderation Julia Neupert
Director Frank Halbig