Ruth Schnell – WORKBOOK

Hybrid spatial installations

Ruth Schnell’s work interrogates historical concepts of reality that are now being called into question by apparative perception. In the field of media art, Schnell has made a significant contribution to the understanding of this radical transformation: she has gone beyond the moving image, involved viewers in a participatory manner, and expanded object-like or sculptural art into immersive environments.

Deeply inscribed in her artistic approach is the reference to sociopolitical questions and the latest developments in technology. The monograph offers a documentary reappraisal and contextualization of Ruth Schnell’s work since 1983 and provides stimulus for enhancing competence in the field of media.

• 40 years of media art production open up new paths and dimensions in a singular way
• Extensive section on the body of work; with prefaces by Peter Weibel and Katharina Gsöllpointner, as well as contributions by Claudia Giannetti, Chris Salter, and Jill Scott
• Digital link to the artist’s video archive via QR codes

Peter Weibel was a media artist, art and media theorist, and curator, Chairman and CEO of the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until 2023), director of the Peter Weibel Research Institute for Digital Cultures, Vienna, and founder of Europe’s first media art class (master class for visual media design) at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Katharina Gsöllpointner is a media and art theorist focusing on the crossover of media aesthetics and digital technologies. Since 2019 she is head of the International Programmes in Sustainable Developments department at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. From 1991 to 1995, together with Peter Weibel, she was responsible for the conception and implementation of the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz.

Ruth Schnell is a media artist and, as a professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, heads the Digital Art Department (until fall 2023). Along a critical examination of the latest media technologies, her work deals with perception and with concepts of reality. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 1990 she participated in the 44th Venice Biennale (Aperto; with Gudrun Bielz); in 1995 she represented Austria with other artists at the 46th Venice Biennale.