Haraldur Karlsson
Virtual ResidencyApril - May 2020
In April we were ready to welcome Icelandic artist Haraldur Karlsson to Vašulka Kitchen Brno as part of our residency series. His physical presence will be replaced by a virtual residence, which will present Haraldur and his current work in a series of videos, texts, and online transmissions. Haraldur will grant us insight into his creative process and demonstrate the mechanism of working with contemporary video processing technologies. We are also preparing live events that you will be able to participate in and ask the artist personally about his work.
Program: We will be presenting Haraldur Karlsson's video work including the author's comments and commentaries over the course of the residency.
We are preparing an on-line course with Haraldur Karlsson which will take place from April 28th through May 28th.
Video Art is Out of the Box
“I could never have had the kind of concentration and focus on the video image I have today. It's not just because I've changed, it's also because the video has changed itself - it has developed and matured. Only a few years ago there was no room for focus on video information because there was no detail and tools for working with video and detailing as it is today. But now the video has as much detail as photography. Tiny colors and tones are visible and functional. The video has become a medium that has received focus and work with detail, a medium that offers so many possibilities and promises. Working with video is no longer frustrating, hostile. Computers don't break, programs work and work. I can create an image just like working with digital photography. We are not bound by the traditional picture frame and do not have to adhere to it. Video art is out of the box. Video art jumped out of its frame and smashed it. I want to explore and marvel at the limits of contemporary video art. ”
Haraldur Karlsson has long been working with video media and experimenting with the possibilities of its technical parameters. It uses the latest technology in long-term projects and collaborates with a number of interdisciplinary experts. Karlsson's own work is usually presented by Karlsson through an interactive artistic installation or performance at an exhibition or in a public space, which has become a place of critical reflection on the development and growth of contemporary society. Recently, the author has been interested in medical records of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) depicting the internal biological organs of the body, as well as data from astronomy or mathematical patterns of natural phenomena. Using digital technologies, the author transforms the exact and technical data into a poetic testimony with a distinctive choreography revealing their hidden aesthetic quality.
Haraldur Karlsson (b. 1967,Reykjavik) lives and works in Norway and is specialized in experimental video art for the nearly 30 years. He holds a diploma in fine arts Mixed Media from the Icelandic art school in Reykjavik and a bachelor's degree in fine arts media art from AKI (Academy of Fine Arts) Enchede, in the Netherlands. He studied multidisciplinary Sonology at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Between 1999 and 2009, Karlsson worked at the Icelandic Academy of Fine Arts as head of fine arts digital Media Lab. Karlsson is currently based in Oslo. He has had a number of exhibitions, performances, workshops and lectures both in Norway and abroad.