Kick off the multimedia project ASTROPOETICON as part of the HWF 100 event series
In 2027, the foundation will celebrate Herbert W. Franke’s 100th birthday with the Generative Art Community. The project HWF 100 consists of events and performances that will take place with partners in Europe, the Americas, and potentially Asia. To mark the anniversary, the foundation has launched the multimedia project ASTROPOETICON. Based on a cycle of 16 poems written by Herbert W. Franke in 1979, first published in a book with space art by Andreas Nottebohm. They philosophically explore the physical laws of the cosmos and its evolutionary processes leading up to the emergence of life. The foundation is currently inviting multimedia artists from around the world to participate in this generative art community project adapting poems for fulldome and immersive theater. The entire cycle, translated into English by James Ginzburg, will premiere in 2027 at an HWF 100 event. Participants will include:
From the Americas
Joshua Davis, USA
Mario Carrillo, Mexico
Juan Rodríguez García, Mexico
From Europe
Piotr Binkowski, Poland
Julius Horsthuis, Netherlands
Markus Kanzler, Germany
Loackme, France
Natalia Oliwiak, Poland
strayltd/plutonium mind, GB/Germany
Frederik de Wilde, Netherlands
The foundation is delighted that these exceptional generative artists are participating in the joint project. There are still two spots open. The Foundation hopes to find an Asian artist to join, too.
“A Leap into the Void” at the start
The immersive precursor project, A Leap into the Void, has now been completed. Directed by the renowned fulldome artist Sergey Prokofyev, it features his multimedia imagery. Luc Lagash and 3001 The Creative Odyssey contributed the sound. The work is based on the English translation of Franke’s science fiction story, “Sprung ins Nichts,” read by Eric Ash. The first preview of a 5 minutes production cut will be shown in the public program at the Dome West West in Boulder, Colorado, in April of this year. The foundation submitted the finalized production of A Leap into the Void already to the Fulldome Festival in Fukuoka, Japan, where the International Planetarium Society will begin its congress. At the IPS Congress, the foundation will present this project and two other production: “The Green Comet” and “The Evolution Game.”