Imai – inter media art institute
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The imai Foundation was founded in 2006 as ''imai - inter media art institute''. It is an institution dedicated to the preservation, research and distribution of video art and media art and associated activities. The foundation organizes workshops, conferences, screenings, exhibitions, research projects and case studies concerning the current questions of conservation and restoration of media art. It aims to develop further the possibilities of (digital) preservation, presentation and distribution of media art.


History

The main purpose for the founding of the imai Foundation (initially called ''imai - inter media art institute'') was to preserve the large collection of video art tapes which the former video art distributor and media art agency ''235 MEDIA'' held in its archive in Cologne. IMAI was set up with the support of the provincial capital of Düsseldorf and the Cologne media art agency 235 MEDIA. The preservation of the video art archive was funded by the
Kunststiftung NRW Kunststiftung NRW (''Art Foundation NRW'') is a foundation created by the government of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia. It was established on September 12, 1989, and started operations in the spring of 1990. It is based in Düsseldorf ...
(art foundation NRW – of the state of North Rhine Westphalia), the 'Kulturstiftung der Länder' (cultural foundation of the Federal states). The IMAI is located in the
NRW Forum The NRW Forum Wirtschaft und Kultur (Forum NRW), formerly the Museum für Industrie und Wirtschaft, is a museum in Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, dealing with the development and the economy of the state of North Rhine ...
at the Ehrenhof complex, built by Wilhelm Kreis in 1925-26, close to
Kunstakademie Düsseldorf The Kunstakademie Düsseldorf is the academy of fine arts of the state of North Rhine Westphalia at the city of Düsseldorf, Germany. Notable artists who studied or taught at the academy include Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Magdalena Jetelová ...
and the museum kunst palast in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
, the state capital of North Rhine-Westfalia. The institute is directed by Dr. Renate Buschmann.


Archives and collections

Now the archive includes approximately 3,000 artistic and documentary works from the era of the 1960s to present. The particular focus is on
video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...
and documentaries about artists, art performances and land art. The collection includes US-American, Asian and European artists now considered some of the pioneers of this relatively young artistic genre, with a focus on works from the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. Audiovisual works, particularly single-channel works, are at the archive. This archive is constantly enriched with new media artworks by contemporary artists. Some of the artists represented by imai include: Steina and Woody Vasulka, George Barber,
Dara Birnbaum Dara Birnbaum (born 1946) is an American video and installation artist. Birnbaum entered the nascent field of video art in the mid-to-late 1970s challenging the gendered biases of the period and television’s ever-growing presence within the Amer ...
,
Klaus vom Bruch Klaus vom Bruch (born 1952 in Cologne) is a German media artist who is considered a pioneer of German video art. Biography Vom Bruch studied conceptual art at the California Institute of the Arts with John Baldessari from 1975 to 1976, and philos ...
, Douglas Davis,
Valie Export Valie Export (often stylized as 'VALIE EXPORT'; born 17 May 1940) is an avant-garde Austrian artist. She is best known for provocative public performances and expanded cinema work. Her artistic work also includes video installations, computer ...
,
Ken Feingold Kenneth Feingold (born 1952 in USA) is a contemporary American artist based in New York City. He has been exhibiting his work in video, drawing, film, sculpture, photography, and installations since 1974. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship ...
, Paul Garrin, Ulrike Rosenbach, Kirsten Geisler,
Gary Hill Gary Hill (born April 4, 1951) is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Often viewed as one of the foundational artists in video art, based on the single-channel work and video- and sound-based installations of the 1970s ...
,
Dara Birnbaum Dara Birnbaum (born 1946) is an American video and installation artist. Birnbaum entered the nascent field of video art in the mid-to-late 1970s challenging the gendered biases of the period and television’s ever-growing presence within the Amer ...
,
Nan Hoover Nan Hoover (12 May 1931 – 9 June 2008) was a Dutch/American-expatriate artist who is known for her pioneering work in video art, photography and performance art. She spent almost four decades living and working in the Netherlands.Valie Export Valie Export (often stylized as 'VALIE EXPORT'; born 17 May 1940) is an avant-garde Austrian artist. She is best known for provocative public performances and expanded cinema work. Her artistic work also includes video installations, computer ...
,
Jürgen Klauke Jürgen Klauke (born 6 September 1943) is a German artist. Beginning in the 1960s, he used his own body as a subject of his photographs. He also experimented with minimalism and surrealism. The ZKM in Karlsruhe exhibits his work.
,
Robert Cahen The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, and
Marcel Odenbach Marcel Odenbach is a German video artist. In the 1970s, with Ulrike Rosenbach and Klaus vom Bruch, he formed the producer group ATV. Odenbach's works criticize the conditions of German society. Life and work Odenbach was born in 1953 in Cologne, ...
.


Case studies

During its ongoing research project to restore media art installations (since 2006), the imai Foundation uses individual case studies to test restoration methods which secured the long-term preservation of technology-based art. imai collaborates with restorers, art historians, technicians and artists. The foundation has realized six case studies so far: The first case study was about ''Il Nuotatore (va troppo spesso ad Heidelberg)'' a work by Studio Azzurro from 1984. ''In Situ'' (1986) by
Gary Hill Gary Hill (born April 4, 1951) is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Often viewed as one of the foundational artists in video art, based on the single-channel work and video- and sound-based installations of the 1970s ...
, ''Exchange Fields'' (2000) by
Bill Seaman Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
, ''Testcuts I'' by
Katharina Sieverding Katharina Sieverding (born 16 November 1944) is a German photographer known for her self-portraiture. Sieverding lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf. She is a professor emeritus at the University of the Arts, Berlin. Early life and educati ...
(2010), ''Light Composition: Documenta 8'' (1987) by
Nan Hoover Nan Hoover (12 May 1931 – 9 June 2008) was a Dutch/American-expatriate artist who is known for her pioneering work in video art, photography and performance art. She spent almost four decades living and working in the Netherlands.Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
art festival Quadriennale 2010 with ''
Katharina Sieverding Katharina Sieverding (born 16 November 1944) is a German photographer known for her self-portraiture. Sieverding lives and works in Berlin and Düsseldorf. She is a professor emeritus at the University of the Arts, Berlin. Early life and educati ...
. Testcuts. Projected Data Images'' and participated in Quadriennale 2014 with the exhibition ''The Invisible Force Behind. Materiality in Media Art''. Media artists Holger Mader and Heike Wiermann displayed a light-art projection in the Ehrenhof courtyard that played across the windows of the Belvedere and also at times the fountain area in the inner courtyard of the Museum Kunstpalast. The exhibition ''Images against Darkness (Bilder gegen die Dunkelheit)'' at KIT – Kunst im Tunnel presented a selection of video art works from the imai archive for the first time.


Permanent video lounge

In the imai Foundation's video lounge, established in 2019 in the NRW Forum in Dusseldorf, you can research the history of video art from the 1970s to the present day and explore it interactively on tablets, where you may watch up to 1500 video art pieces.


Members of the Board of Trustees

Members of the Board of Trustees are Dr. Andreas Broeckmann (Director ISEA2010_Ruhr and founding Director Dortmunder U), Dr. Söke Dinkla (Director
Lehmbruck Museum The Stiftung Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum - Center for International Sculpture is a museum in Duisburg, Germany. Sculptures by Wilhelm Lehmbruck, after whom the museum is named, make up a large part of its collection. However, the museum has a sub ...
Duisburg), Prof. Rainer Jacobs (lawyer), Ulrich Leistner (235 MEDIA), Hans-Georg Lohe (Director of Cultural Affairs of the City of Düsseldorf), Prof.
Marcel Odenbach Marcel Odenbach is a German video artist. In the 1970s, with Ulrike Rosenbach and Klaus vom Bruch, he formed the producer group ATV. Odenbach's works criticize the conditions of German society. Life and work Odenbach was born in 1953 in Cologne, ...
(artist), Dr. Ingrid Stoppa-Sehlbach (Cultural Department of the State Chancellery NRW), Beat Wismer (General director of Stiftung
Museum Kunstpalast The Kunstpalast, formerly Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf is an art museum in Düsseldorf. History The roots of the museum go back around 300 years. In 1932, the collection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf (Academy of Art) was housed in the Kunstmus ...
),
Julia Stoschek Julia Stoschek (born 1975) is a German socialite and art collector. Career Julia Stoschek was born in 1975, the daughter of Michael Stoschek, the German billionaire businessman and chairman of Brose Fahrzeugteile. Stoschek first began buyi ...
(Julia Stoschek Collection), Doris Krystof (Kunstsammlung NRW).


Members of the Board

Members of the Board are Nicolas Maas (Foundation Schloß Benrath) and Axel Wirths (235 MEDIA).


Publications

The imai Foundation publishes exhibition catalogs and specialist works on the monographic and thematic exhibitions and case studies. A selection: * Renate Buschmann/Darija Šimunović (Eds.): ''The Invisible Force Behind: Materialität in der Medienkunst'', Kettler Verlag, Bönen 2014. * Renate Buschmann/Darija Šimunović (Eds.): ''Die Gegenwart des Ephemeren. Medienkunst im Spannungsfeld zwischen Konservierung und Interpretation'', Wiener Verlag für Sozialforschung, Vienna 2014. * Renate Buschmann/Tiziana Caianiello (Eds.): ''Media Art Installations. Preservation and Presentation. Materializing the Ephemeral'' imai Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2013. * imai - inter media art institute (Ed.): ''Katharina Sieverding. Testcuts. Projected Data Images'' DuMont, Cologne, 2010. * KIT – Kunst im Tunnel/imai - inter media art institute (Eds.): ''Images against Darkness. Video art from the archive of imai at KIT'' exhibition catalogue 2012


See also

*
New media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
*
New media art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...


References


External links


imai Websiteimai video art databasearticle about imai at artsandsignature
{{DEFAULTSORT:imai Foundation - inter media art institute Research institutes in Germany Arts centres in Germany Art museums and galleries in Germany New media art Video art Computer art German video artists 2006 establishments in Germany