Dialogfeld 3 - Dialogfelder

SIMON WECKERT

http://www.simonweckert.com

Simon Weckert is an artist based in Berlin. He enjoys sharing his knowledge on a wide range of fields, from generative design to physical computing. His focus is on the digital world - including everything to do with code and electronics, taking into account current social aspects ranging from technology-orientated investigations to the discussion of current social issues. In his work, he tries to assess the value of technology not in terms of actual benefits, but from the perspective of future generations. He wants to raise awareness of the privilege of people in Western civilisation and remind them of the obligations associated with this privilege.
Facial Perception

We encounter a large number of people every day: the nice waitress at the bakery, the bus driver or family members. Without the ability to recognise faces at a glance, we would not be able to distinguish between people, which is fundamentally important for our social lives.

But what would happen to us if a person's face constantly changed due to small differences and thus contributed to a new, individual appearance? How many changes would it take if gender, nature, culture, social status, the good,

and beauty have to be redefined and determined? Does this then also have an effect on our trust in this person or do we exclude them? For the work, photographic portraits of people from Sonnenberg were taken and passed as training data to an AI algorithm, which continuously creates deceptively real portraits of people in an endless loop with small changes.

SIMON WECKERT

http://www.simonweckert.com

Simon Weckert is an artist based in Berlin. He enjoys sharing his knowledge on a wide range of fields, from generative design to physical computing. His focus is on the digital world - including everything to do with code and electronics, taking into account current social aspects ranging from technology-orientated investigations to the discussion of current social issues. In his work, he tries to assess the value of technology not in terms of actual benefits, but from the perspective of future generations. He wants to raise awareness of the privilege of people in Western civilisation and remind them of the obligations associated with this privilege.
Facial Perception

We encounter a large number of people every day: the nice waitress at the bakery, the bus driver or family members. Without the ability to recognise faces at a glance, we would not be able to distinguish between people, which is fundamentally important for our social lives.

But what would happen to us if a person's face constantly changed due to small differences and thus contributed to a new, individual appearance? How many changes would it take if gender, nature, culture, social status, the good,

and beauty have to be redefined and determined? Does this then also have an effect on our trust in this person or do we exclude them? For the work, photographic portraits of people from Sonnenberg were taken and passed as training data to an AI algorithm, which continuously creates deceptively real portraits of people in an endless loop with small changes.

SUSANNE FLOCK

https://susannaflock.net

Susanna Flock graduated from the University of Art and Design Linz in 2015 and from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2017. In her work, she examines the relationship of the body to its technologically mediated environment and screen culture. Digital technologies and the labour economies of late capitalism are not only the context, but also the content-related cosmos of her work process.

She was recently awarded the Pixel, Bytes and Film Fellowship (2020), the Viktor Fogarassy Prize (2019), a residency at Rote Fabrik Zurich (2019), a start-up grant for media art from the Austrian Federal Chancellery (2018) and a fellowship from Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart (2018).

She has been a member of the collective Total Refusal since 2020.
Ohne Titel

The possibility of rating places in Google Maps and uploading images and texts in the reviews is artistically misappropriated by the artist. Her associative entries, investigations and interventions are explored in a joint walk on the Sonnenberg.
a joint walk on the Sonnenberg.

The project experiments with the potential of feedback structures and the competitive evaluation logic of digital surveying instruments.

SUSANNE FLOCK

https://susannaflock.net

Susanna Flock graduated from the University of Art and Design Linz in 2015 and from the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in 2017. In her work, she examines the relationship of the body to its technologically mediated environment and screen culture. Digital technologies and the labour economies of late capitalism are not only the context, but also the content-related cosmos of her work process.

She was recently awarded the Pixel, Bytes and Film Fellowship (2020), the Viktor Fogarassy Prize (2019), a residency at Rote Fabrik Zurich (2019), a start-up grant for media art from the Austrian Federal Chancellery (2018) and a fellowship from Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart (2018).

She has been a member of the collective Total Refusal since 2020.
Ohne Titel

The possibility of rating places in Google Maps and uploading images and texts in the reviews is artistically misappropriated by the artist. Her associative entries, investigations and interventions are explored in a joint walk on the Sonnenberg.
a joint walk on the Sonnenberg.

The project experiments with the potential of feedback structures and the competitive evaluation logic of digital surveying instruments.

07.01.2025 ‣THREE QUESTIONS FOR SIMON WECKERT
Dialogfeld 3

What work did you develop for the dialogue fields?

Simon: “For the dialogue fields, I wanted to portray the citizens of Sonnenberg. I realised that you see new faces and meet new people every day when you walk around the Sonnenberg. I therefore wanted to create portraits of the Sonnenberg, which can then be seen as an installation.”

Do you notice any differences to other residencies now that you’ve been invited to a city with a personal connection?

Simon: “Definitely. You come into contact with people more quickly and also have a few more connections. Somehow I was back in relatively quickly. After the first two days, I already had the feeling that I had arrived well and was able to get started straight away. That was the biggest difference to other cities. Back then, I perceived Sonnenberg as a blatant Nazi mountain that I always gave a wide berth. Now I was amazed at how diverse the urban area is. I wanted to pursue this approach further. With the portraits, I want to show how much has changed compared to the Chemnitz of 10 or 15 years ago when I moved away.”

What can visitors expect from your presentation?

Simon: “In principle, it will be an installation that you have to spend a lot of time in front of. Ultimately, it will be a screen-based work. When you stand in front of the installation, you probably think it’s a portrait at first. If you stand in front of it for longer, you will see that the face slowly evolves and morphs from one face to another. I believe that the question can then arise as to how much change it takes to recognise a new person and what this triggers in the viewer.”
30.08.2021 ‣THREE QUESTIONS TO SUSANNA FLOCK
Dialogfeld 3

What kind of work have you developed for the dialogue fields?

Susanna: “For the dialogue fields, I’m working with Google Maps and the feedback structures that can be stored via reviews, comments and image uploads. I want to utilise the potential of the feedback structures artistically.”

How quickly did you realise that you wanted to develop this project and go in this direction? Was it an idea that you had from the start or did it come about spontaneously?

Susanna: “The project came about here. I found it very exciting to be invited for about a month as part of the dialogue fields and to engage with the city on site. It’s very exciting, but it also put a bit of pressure on me because I was afraid that I wouldn’t come up with a good idea. But we had an exciting input right at the beginning in Chemnitz with the Welcome Days. The idea then actually materialised in discussions with the others.”

What can visitors expect from your presentation and the project in general?

Susanna: “It’s the starting signal for a project without any claim to completeness. There will be a walk with a very personal and associative tour of the Sonnenberg via Google Maps entries and the topic of constantly evaluating and categorising things into one to five stars. The people of Chemnitz and the rest of the world, as we are all measured by Google Maps, can use it. Through the open structure, anyone can rate places and upload photos or text to start a public debate.”