Wolfgang Paul Georgsdorf (born 10 September 1959 in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) is an Austrian

media artist New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D ...

, director, sculptor, musician, author, researcher, and inventor based in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. He was founder and spokesman of Opal-so-nicht which resulted in a successful case against Gazprom and

BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...

in Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Education

Georgsdorf was educated at the

University of Art and Design Linz The University of Art and Design Linz (common short form University of Arts Linz) is one of four universities in Linz, Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its ca ...

from 1977 until 1983. There, he was one of the founding members of the Stadtwerkstatt Linz and of the experimental music project ''Die Post''.

Career

Olfaction

He started to explore olfactory art in the 1980s. One of his early installations was shown at the Ars Electronica Festival in 1986. In 1996 he built the prototype of a mechanically-controlled scent organ, the ''Smeller 1.0''. In the exhibition ''Werk'Zeuge'' at the OÖ Landesmuseum (State Museum of Upper Austria) he presented ''Smeller 1.0'' which was able to play hundreds of scents for the audience – and by the audience. In 2011 he started to work on the '' Smeller 2.0'', an electronically-controlled scent organ. In 2012 the completed ''Smeller 2.0'' was presented in the exhibition "Sinnesrausch" at the Austrian Kulturquartier from June until October.Artikel OÖ Nachrichten
/ref> In 2013 Georgsdorf was honored for ''Smeller 2.0'' with the Outstanding Artist Award.Bundeskanzleramt Österreich 2014
recipient list promotion price outstanding artist award In 2016, he initiated an entire festival in Berlin for the newly developed art form '' Osmodrama – Storytelling with Scents''. The festival explored the possibilities of olfactory art in conjunction with various other time-based art forms. In 2017 he received The Art and Olfaction Award by the L.A.-based Institute for Art and Olfaction. In 2018 he presented a further development of ''Smeller 2.0'' and Osmodrama at Martin Gropius Bau Berlin for the exhibition "Welt ohne Außen" (''World with No Outside'') by

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German for Berlin Festivals) are a series of festivals, art exhibitions, and other cultural events organized all year long by a common organization in Berlin. Events are held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a pre-ex ...

curated by

Tino Sehgal Tino is an Italian name or nickname, often a diminutive of the names Agostino, Costantino, Martino, Antonino, Valentino, Giustino, Sabatino, Faustino, and other names ending in -tino. Tino may refer to: People Given name * Tino Ausenda (191 ...

and Thomas Oberender. In this exhibition with the subtitle "Immersive Spaces since the 1960s," alongside artists such as Doug Wheeler, Larry Bell, Lucio Fontana,

Carsten Höller Carsten Höller (born December 1961) is a German artist. He lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.Alice Rawsthorn (January 2012)"Cliff Hanger - The Ghanaian home of artists Carsten Höller and Marcel Odenbach goes above—and beyond" ''W Magazi ...

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster (born 30 June 1965, in Strasbourg) is a French visual artist and educator. She is known for her work in video projection, photography, and art installations. She has worked in landscaping, design, and writing. "I alw ...

, Cyprien Gaillard,

, Isabell Lewis, Nony de la Peña,

Jeppe Hein Jeppe Hein (born 1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is an artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen.Charité, University Hospital

TU Dresden TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

(Interdisciplinary Center for Smell and Taste), and a private Berlin clinic to conduct an evidence-based study on Osmodrama as a curative technology.

Sign language

In 2000, after seven years of study on the topic, Georgsdorf published the first digital bi-directional dictionary for Austrian Sign Language '' MUDRA'' in nine dialects. In the projects ''~~sinnlos~~'' and ''Deaf Dance,'' he dealt artistically with the subject, made

video clip Video clips refer to mostly short videos, most of the time called memes, which are short videos of silly jokes and funny clips, most of the time coming from movies or any entertainment videos such as YouTube. The term is also used more loosely to ...

s in sign language, organized clubbing events for the deaf and hearing and held scenic lectures on deaf culture. In 2005 Georgsdorf was a speaker at

Wikimania Wikimania is the Wikimedia movement's annual conference, organized by volunteers and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. Topics of presentations and discussions include Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, other wikis, open-source software, f ...

, the first Wikipedia world conference, where he presented his ideas on Hyperfilm and the introduction of

sign languages Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

to the Wikipedia platform considering that knowledge is not a domain of the literate world.

Music

His musical works besides his early work with ''Die Post'' include compositions for the

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...

production of

Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...

's ''Duell-Traktor-Fatzer,'' compositions for his giant forest

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

, his work as a

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/compose ...

and conductor of the Berlin Improvisers Orchestra as well as collaborations with protagonists of

new New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

such as Tristan Honsinger,

Alexander von Schlippenbach Alexander von Schlippenbach (born 7 April 1938) is a German jazz pianist and composer. He came to prominence in the 1960s playing free jazz in a trio with saxophonist Evan Parker and drummer Paul Lovens, and as a member of the Globe Unity Orchest ...

, Stephen Crowe, Tom Jackson,

Benedict Taylor Benedict Sean Taylor (born 18 April 1960) is a British actor. Taylor was born in Hampstead, London, the eldest of six children of father, Richard, a documentary film maker, and Allegra, a writer. Taylor lived in Nigeria until 1965 and then wa ...

, Miya, Niko Meinhold, Alison Blunt, Hui-Chun Lin, Anna Kaluza, and Manuel Miethe.

Media Art/Performance

From 1983 to 1986 he was am member of the group Minus Delta t and became a collaborator in the ''Bangkok Project'', later ''The Project'', which included the transportation of a 5.5-ton blue granite boulder from Stonehenge, England over land to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to be dropped into the Ganges River. The Project also included the immersion of a steel vault in the

Indian Himalayas The Indian Himalayan Region (abbreviated to IHR) is the section of the Himalayas within the Republic of India, spanning seven Indian states and union territories, namely Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, West ...

with a computer and keys distributed over Europe and Asia (''The First Philosophical Databank in the Himalayas'').

Film

Since 1977 Georgsdorf has been creating

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

films and has been a member of the Austria Filmmakers Cooperative since 1980.

Other fine arts

His drawings, paintings, and sculptures are in private and public collections. As a sculptor he created the metal sculpture ''Kuppel'', shown at the Austrian

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

from 1983 to 1996. It is now at the OÖ Landesmuseum in Linz. Linz PA Museumspark Kuppel

Community building

His political and social interventions include, among others, the civic movement Opal-so-nicht, which he founded in 2007 as the spokesman, and which resulted in a successful case against Gazprom and

in Dahme-Heideseen Nature Park.

Personal life

Georgsdorf lives in Berlin with the actress

Eva Mattes __notoc__ Eva Mattes (; born 14 December 1954) is an Austrian-German actress. She has appeared in four films directed by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (''The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'', ', ''Effi Briest'' and ''In a Year of 13 Moons' ...

and two children. The actor Josef Mattes is their son.

Selected exhibitions

* 1980: "Intelligenz der Hand," at Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna (Group exhibition, contributing the large music sculpture ''Congress'') * 1983: ''Kuppel'' at Museum of Modern Art Vienna, Palais Liechtenstein * 1988: Various Austrian Artists, Unge Kunstneres Samfund,

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

* 1990: "Decharge," Fondation Cartier, Paris / Jouy en Josas * 1990: "Fünfte Lade," Galerie Hofkabinett and Small Gallery,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. * 1996: "Werk'zeuge ''Smeller 1.0''", State Museum of Upper Austria * 1996: ''Kuppel'' at OÖ. Landesmuseum Linz (Upper Austrian State Museum; art acquisition from the Museum of Modern Art Vienna into the permanent collection of the museum) * 2003: "sinnlos – die Kunst / die Körper / die Fremdkörper", Künstlerhaus Graz, Graz * 2005: "Auf wär men," Galerie Hofkabinett, Linz * 2005: Phonorama,

ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe The ZKM , Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (until March 2016: ZKM Center for Art and Media Technology), a cultural institution, was founded in 1989. and since 1997 is located in a listed industrial building in Karlsruhe, Germany, a former muni ...

* 2006: "Balla Balla Bar," performance and exhibition, copyright project gallery, Berlin * 2006-2013: Lesefährte Waldweisen (reading track Forest Ditty), Spree-forest

public space * 2008: ''großes Waldxylofon Brandenburg'' (Giant Forest Xylophone) * 2008/2009: ''Lichtung'', ''Copyright Projektbüro'', Berlin''Lichtung''
/ref> * 2011: ''Xylomat/Permanent Conference'' in "Jahr der Wälder" (Year of the Woods), Galerie ZS-Art Vienna, Museum of Lower Austria, Artmuseum

Stift Klosterneuburg Klosterneuburg Abbey or Monastery (german: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth-century Augustinian monastery of the Roman Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube, just north of the Vienna city ...

* 2012: ''Smeller 2.0'', ''Smeller 1.0'' in ''Sinnesrausch'', O. Ö. Kulturquartier, OK Center for Contemporary Art * 2016: ''Osmodrama'', St.-Johannes-Evangelist-Kirche, Auguststr. 90, Berlin (in cooperation with Radialsystem V and International Literaturefestival Berlin) * 2018: ''Osmodrama'',

Martin Gropius Bau Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition building in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstra� ...

, Berlin. "Quarter Autocomplete" / Osmodrama via Smeller 2.0 Installation and Synosmie by Wolfgang Georgsdorf

Selected Filmography

* 1977: ''Sub und Ultra'' * 1979: ''Rom'' * 1980: ''Unter der Tonne'' (Under the barrel) * 1981: ''Hängende Männer'' (Hanging Men) * 1981: ''In the Dim of Proximity'' * 1982: ''Gärtrommel'' (Fermentation Drum) * 1985: ''Simultan Dolmetsch'' * 1992: ''Salzburg Skizzen Tag und Nacht'' (Salzburg Sketches Day and Night) * 1993: ''Zelt an der Donau'' (Tent at the Danube) * 1995: ''Towards Human Rights'' * 1999: ''Ballade Berlin'' * 2008: ''Hammer'' * 2012+: ''Video Series on Osmodrama''

Awards

* 1990 Fondation Cartier grant * 2013 Outstanding Artist Award of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Art and Culture for ''Smeller 2.0'' * 2017 Sadakichi Award / Art and Olfaction Award for Osmodrama Berlin 2016 for ''Smeller 2.0'' * 2017 Nomination for the Art and Science Award, the Dresden Centre for Science and Art

Bibliography

* ''Mudra'', Multimedia Package on the Austrian Sign Language, Fischer Film 2001. * ''Kinder-Mudra'' – training programme and digital dictionary of the Austrian Sign Language for children. * ''Geruchsorgel'' in: Uli Marchsteiner, Peter Assmann, OÖ Landesmuseum (Hrsg.): ''Werk'Zeuge / Design des Elementaren''. Bibliothek der Provinz, 1996, , S. 141–143. * ''Über das Riechen'' (About Smelling) in: Gottfried Hattinger, OÖ Landesmuseum (Hrsg.): ''Über die Sinne''. Bibliothek der Provinz, 2006, , p. 63. * ''Protokoll einer Gründung'' (Foundation Protocol) In: OÖ Landesmuseum (Hrsg.): ''Stadtwerkstatt – In Arbeit 1979–1995''. Triton Verlag Wien, , p. 51–58. * ''POST – Energische und augenblickliche Musik'' (founding of the music group ''POST'') In: OÖ Landesmuseum (Hrsg.): ''Stadtwerkstatt – In Arbeit 1979–1995''. Triton Verlag Wien, , p. 65–77. * ''Smeller'' in: Wolfgang Georgsdorf: ''Fächer''. Fishnet Verlag, 1997, , p. 50–51. * ''Mudra'' in: Wolfgang Georgsdorf: ''Fächer''. Fishnet Verlag, 1997, , p. 52–55. * Thomas Renoldner: ''Animation in Austria – 1832 until Today'' in: Christian Dewald, Sabine Groschup, Mara Mattuschka, Thomas Renoldner (Publisher): ''Die Kunst des Einzelbilds''. Filmarchive Austria, , p. 41–154. (Georgsdorf ''Im Gehäuse'' S. 134,143) * ''Unrasierter Abfahrer'' In: Stadtwerkstatt (Hrsg.): ''Zeichnungen aus dem Umfeld (Stwst 1979–1999)''. Triton Verlag Wien, 2002, , p. 35. * ''Minus Delta t – The Project''. Catalogue for the 6th Triennale New Delhi. Austrian Ministry for Education, Arts and Sports, 1986. * Stadtwerkstatt (Publisher): ''Mögliche Antworten''. Stadtwerkstatt Text, 1990. * ''Rental catalog of the Austrian Filmmaker-Coop''. Austrian Filmmaker-Coop, 1998 (Film Georgsdorf at page 29–30).

External links

Official website

Osmodrama

Smeller 2.0

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgsdorf, Wolfgang 1959 births Living people Austrian artists Austrian directors Austrian inventors Austrian male writers