Projects and Event Announcements of the Foundation Herbert W. Franke
Herbert W. Franke, who died in 2022 at the age of 95, is a pioneer of bridging science and art. A theoretical physicist with a doctorate, he created an extensive oeuvre as a freelance writer, artist and scientist since the 1950s. He was a pioneer of German post-war science fiction, is regarded worldwide as a pioneer of computer art, discovered the C14 method for age determination in the field of cave research in 1952 and subsequently made numerous important scientific contributions to Sinter -dating and -chronology. On the occasion of his 96th birthday on May 14, we would like to announce upcoming events featuring Herbert W. Franke’s work and provide an update on ongoing Foundation projects.
May 18-20
MetropolCon Berlin
Exhibition Herbert W. Franke’s Fantastic Worlds
with an introduction by Dietmar Dath on May 18, 3 p.m.
silent green Kulturquartier
At the science fiction convention MetropolCon in Berlin, the community honors the pioneer of German-language post-war science fiction Herbert W. Franke with an exhibition of a special kind: with images from his utopian series Phantastische Welten (Fantastic Worlds) as well as still images from Z-Galaxy, his metaverse gallery, which Franke published in 2008 on the 3D platform Active Worlds. The exhibition of the works will be opened by the well-known author Dietmar Dath with a short introduction on May 18 at 3 pm.
June 15 – July 23, 2023
Exhibition participation Studio Stadt
Kunstraum München
On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Kunstraum München by the Stiftung Kunstfonds of the city of Munich, the green series (Serie Grün) is shown as a digital fim. The computer images were photographed as early as 1974 in the research laboratories of Siemens from a screen of a then completely new computer system, which for the first time used digital image analysis for medical diagnosis. However, the source images were not X-rays, but scanned images of various punch cards, which were then further distorted using digital image processing. Franke designed the slides created with this photo series for a Kodak double projector system in soft fading, which was given a pseudo-dynamic effect with this form of presentation.
June 16, 2023
Astropoeticon – Space poetry at the Planetarium
Planetarium of Volkssternwarte München
Astropoeticon is based on a utopian poetry cycle by Herbert W. Franke. The 16 minimalist-associative poems were written in 1979 for a book with pictures by the space painter Andreas Nottebohm and have since been reprinted in the volume “Der Kristallplanet” (the cristal planet) of Franke’s utopian writings. In 2007 the author read in the poems, and even before his death Susanne Päch of HYPERRAUM.TV converted the cycle into a multimedia associative-virtual experience space – underpinned by the melancholic-dark sounds of the electronic sound artists Bersarin and Subheim.
July 17, 2023
Herbert W. Franke: art meets science
Lectures, exhibition, multimedia performance
Computer Museum Kiel
In the theme evening “Herbert W. Franke: art meets science” on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of his death on July 16, 2022 Franke’s equally extensive and multifaceted work in the border area between science and art will be presented in an evening event. In two short lectures, the significance of Franke’s work will be classified: Art historian Dr. Heike Piehler presents the visual artist as a pioneer of algorithmic art. The literary scholar Prof. Dr. Hans Esselborn presents the role of the writer Franke as a pioneer of German-language post-war science fiction. An exhibition will also feature works by Franke, who is now celebrated worldwide as a pioneer of computer art. As a highlight of the evening, the Astropoeticon will be shown for the first time in a 3D dome projection in the Media Dome of Kiel University of Applied Sciences.
Further exhibition participations in summer2023
Opening May 16 – Virtual Exhibition New Float: Two new exhibition spaces of the virtual museum New Float by Metaverse artist Manuel Rossner from Berlin open their doors. Also on view inside is Voice Gem Astropoeticon, a collaboration by Franke with artist duo Harry Yeff and Trung Bao, who used artificial intelligence to “freeze” a poem from the cycle into crystalline structure.
25. Mai – 15. Juni – Poème Sbjkt – Galerie Vossen Paris: Galerie Vossen Paris: An exhibition on the theme of literature and AI by Galerie Vossen in Paris, curated by crypto artist Sasha Stiles. It takes place in the Librairie Galerie Métamorphoses, dedicated to generative literature. Also on view there is the Voice Gem Astropoeticon von Herbert W. Franke.
Tribute to Herbert W. Franke
Update on the Projects Digitization of Franke’s Manuscripts and Robotics for schools in Namibia
There is also news to report on the two foundation projects within the Tribute to Herbert W. Franke – made possible by the generous donations of Artists 2022- which are making progress. The digitization of Franke’s approximately two thousand manuscripts spanning nearly seventy years, which are preserved for the public in the Herbert W. Franke Archive of the Center for Art and Media ZKM | Karlsruhe, has now been completed. After quality control and indexing, they will then be freely accessible online within the next few months.
In the school project Robotics for Namibian pupils, a robotics curriculum with experiments is now being developed as a pilot together with the computer club of the state-run Duine Secondary School in Walvis Bay, which will then be rolled out in other schools in Namibia. In March, a teacher-student delegation handed over the first robotics experiment kits at the joint project launch, and more robotics kits will soon be on their way to Namibia.
Press Contact:
Dr. Susanne Psch
art meets science – Foundation Herbert W. Franke
office@art-meets-science.info
www.art-meets-science.io