Matthias Hurtl

audiovisual - performance

Matthias Hurtl (@mmths): media artist and researcher working at the intersection of sound, electromagneticism, and telecommunication networks. His work is interdisciplinary and takes the form of audio-visual performances, sound installations, fixed media compositions, and electronic devices. In recent years knowledge transfer and demystifying radio technology have become a crucial part of his practice through the intersection of art and education.


Demystifying the Æther – Workshop - In collaboration with: Félicien Goguey @ Mapping Festival Location: |Le Commun|, Geneva The workshop « Demystifying the Æther » explores the world of electromagnetic waves and their omnipresence in our lives. By taking the visible infrastructure as a starting point, media artist Félicien Goguey and sound artist Matthias Hurtl will introduce the participants to the notion of Hertzian space and to the activities conducted within (broadcasting, telephony, aerospace, military, trading, and surveillance…) .
Beware of the sirens, little bird - - is a site-specific sound installation growing in the space. Throughout the course of the show, Matthias will be running a temporary observatory in the Wielewaal to capture transient signals of circling birds and orbiting satellites. For brief moments, their calls connect the Æther to the ground as they traverse through our neighborhood. Their absence is a manifestation of ever-changing environments and ecosystems. shown at: Growing Space Wielewaal in Rotterdam (NL), October 2022
I covered my head as debris rained over me - is joint research of three artists during the residential stay in Zagreb's galleries of Karas and Kamba: Hugo Baranger (FR), Matthias Hurtl (AT), and Matias Romano Aleman (AR), built around the story of an imaginary bird-watcher, set between the two focal points of this person's life: an observation point (set in Kamba), where the night sounds of feather city- dwellers are gathered from the microphones on its rooftop, and a studio (placed in Karas), where the machines for observing different avian behaviours are developed. Connecting the two sites of the story are the skies, the aether, and the ground to discover the life that flies, and intangible bonds of human communications with natural life, but also the pieces each leaves in the other.
BIOSPHERE - is an immersive performance created for public spaces in which the audience can participate with their own bikes. Conny Zenk, Gischt, Verena Dürr, Ramona Cidej and Matthias Hurtl develop a multi-channel open-air sound experience in motion. On the basis of field recordings from different locations in Floridsdorf, sonic atmospheres of the city are captured, from central to peripheral locations. On three evenings in June, a swarm of bicycles with mobile speakers move as a soundride from the last piece of Danube forest in Brigittenau to Floridsdorf. “Understanding sound as relational, as what may traffic across acoustics and electronics, bodies and machines, supporting contact with the world.” – LaBelle, Brandon. Acoustic Justice, 2021 Artistic Direction, Concept: Conny Zenk Please visit the project website for more information: https://radperformance.at/en/projekte/biosphere-2/
Signal hunting bike rides - The bike rides are inspired by the historical soundwalk format — a term coined by Pierre Schaeffer — and engage the audience in a signal hunt. The rides attempted to get the audience physically involved in the act and put the audience in a state of active listening as we tried to sync up with the circadian rhythms of the satellites and explored the urban environment of the city of Rotterdam.
Intimate Observations - The thematic group exhibition Intimate Observations brings together a group of digital artists that all in their individual ways conduct Earth observations as a form of artistic research. Using methods as data gathering, recording or other kinds of measurements they aim to let you experience their findings. From the similarity in the oceanic sound environment, the growth (and digital mimicking) of bacteria, the interconnection in migration patterns of animals to the hunting of ghost satellites. Come perceive the world through their eyes. Intimate observations is the result of the V2_+MUSEU ZER0 residency program that challenged artists to critically reflect on the relations between humankind, territory, and environment through the use of digital art. My interview with V2_ about my sound installation Drowning in Æther: https://v2.nl/articles/interview-with-matthias-hurtl-about-drowning-in-aether
Drowning in Æther - In my practice, I am often fascinated by activities occurring in the earth's orbit. Currently, my interest is centered around the countless number of signals and indeterminate messages emitted by the artificial objects discreetly surrounding us. Multitudes of satellites transmit different rhythms and frequencies, spreading inaudible, encoded messages into what was once known as the æther. Signal transmissions have been a persistent part of human history and since the emergence of radio technology we are now more than ever dependent on them. Many of our technological developments rely on radio technology. GPS, for example, is implemented in a multitude of everyday devices and is assisting them in tracking every move we make. Most of those signals are not meant to be heard by the human ear. My lecture performance *Drowning in Æther* focuses on the audibility of satellite signals and invites the audience on a trip through the radio spectrum, to drown in the noise of the static, hunt the Pirates of the Ionosphere and the silent whispers of forgotten ghost satellites.