- 1979 -
Ars Electronica was established in 1979. Although just 26 years ago, in terms of digital history, it's more like the dark ages. If you think about it like that, the people of Linz just rock!
We asked a number of people why Linz began Ars. I mean, how many digital fanatics could there have been in this tiny little European town over twenty years ago? In actuality, the answer is quite connected to industry and tourism.
... Kiyoshi's eye AAL002

- 155 cm Dance duo -
One of our guests that time introduced us to some friends of theirs. They became our next guests - this network of friends is propelling AAL forward!
The artists this time are a hot dance duo and friends of Yasuhiro Suzuki, the Ho Ho Do! Hear them roar! They have heard of something called "Ars" way off yonder, but it seems this is the first time they've ever seen visual images of the event. They had a great time though, laughing and commenting...made me feel wonderful. All of sudden, I felt like their prisoner. Check out their guest page!

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This was the start of Ars' box event. In a place that seemed like a warehouse for repairing Austrian National Railway trains, someone put lighting and speakers turning the place into a club. Abstract and techno music pumped out of the sound boxes while cool images were projected. The visual images apparently used data to make it interactive, but I couldn't find out exactly how it was interactive.

What was more fun was the atmosphere of the venue. Drinking beer and wine with all kinds of amazing people was absolutely great. It wasn't the kind of music that I personally like, but other than that, the mood of the trains sitting silently in the dark was soothing. A great warm up event to Ars.

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Klangwolke. Translated, it means "the cloud of sound". As an explosion echoes along the banks of the Danube River, what we see is a stage created on a boat, and one enormous opera being held.

Along with the establishment of Ars in 1979 was Klangwolke. Because it's known among Linz's citizens as a fireworks display, it is actually more famous than Ars Electronica. And like the great mass of people bathing in the Ganges in Varanasi, India, old men and women, children, everyone faces the riverbank in unison. From evening onward, the crowd was unbelievable. Perhaps a hundred thousand people, 150,000 according to one estimate. You could certainly feel the air getting thick. Like Japan's ultra popular high school baseball tournament, the Koshien, from the end of one summer to the glory of the next, preparations take an entire year. That is how big this event is.

This year war was the theme. I think the story was about if Austria had remained occupied by Germany, but I'm not exactly sure. Sorry. My impression? The show itself was honestly not that good. But the explosive sound of the jet ski was pretty awesome. It was so awesome I thought my back was going to break. Probably considered noise pollution though.

26 years ago, the first Klangwolke was really amazing apparently. All the citizens of Linz placed their radios by their windows and tuned in all at once to a station playing digital music. The entire city reverberated with the music. It rocked. In contrast, recently all that's being required is money. You watch and the moment it's over, you start thinking about dinner. It doesn't stick to your bones...

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Of all the events that take place night after night, the O.K Night at the bar on the top floor of the O.K Center beats them all.The event title itself has nothing interesting about it, but the event itself is quite an interesting performance.

This year, they used a hard disk to make noise. Someone holding a guitar was beside the hard disk guy, but he wasn't playing it. Rather, he was using the effecter to make a howling-like sound. Even more interesting was the fact that the guy manipulating the hard disk was actually a staff member in charge of the carpentry for all the exhibits. And the guy and girl bartenders were also infotrainers who I saw during the day in the exhibit space. The family atmosphere that you get at Linz is one of the event's most charming points, and even if you don't know anyone there, someone will come and have a drink with you.

The night before O.K Night was the annual Klangwolke. It has become easy-to-understand like a Universal Studios show and a Hollywood-like pop style that leaves you feeling cheated. But participating in this local event afterwards, allowed me to really feel just how much Ars rocks. This is it!

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