marcus neustetter
Biography & short CV
Johannesburg based artist, cultural activist and producer, Marcus Neustetter, reflects critically and playfully on his context through his art and collaborative projects. His strategy has been to pro-actively create, play and experiment to build opportunities and experiences that investigate, reflect and provoke. Mostly process driven, his production of art at the intersection of art, science and technology has led him to work in a multi-disciplinary approach from conventional drawings to permanent and temporary site specific installations, mobile and virtual interventions and socially engaged projects internationally.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the 14 November 1976, Marcus Neustetter attended the Deutsche Schule zu Johannesburg from 1982 to 1994. He read for his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, earning his Masters Degree in 2001. During this time he launched sanman (Southern African New Media Art Network). In the past 10 years Marcus Neustetter has been consistently producing and exhibiting art and, in partnership with Stephen Hobbs, has been active with The Gallery Premises, The Trinity Session and in their collaborative capacity as Hobbs/Neustetter (www.onair.co.za ).
Select Projects from working as The Trinity Session and as Hobbs/Neustetter have been included below and marked: [* in collaboration with]. A more extensive list of projects and an expanded CV of these can be supplied.
Select Artworks / Exhibitions
2012
In Production
> Guest to the Virtueel Platform, Amsterdam
> France research trip – France – South Africa Cultural Seasons, Johannesburg [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Solo exhibition at Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> Residency at the Nirox Foundation, Cradle of Humankind
> Courier Dialogue, exhibition in collaboration with Walter Stach, Nirox Projects, Johannesburg
> Ataya/Thé/ Tea, intervention in Hillbrow, Johannesburg [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Traces of a rocket… light installation, Johannesburg
> Go Digtial, commissioned Stamp design artwork by the South African Post Office
> Go Digital exhibition and launch event hosted by the Department of Communication
> Without Time and Place, performance at the Market Theatre in collaboration with Jill Richards
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> 10YRSONAIR, 10 Year Review Exhibition at MOAD, Johannesburg [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Dazzle and Google Trace, lighting interventions in the Maboneng Precinct [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Temporary Museum of Art presented at the 11th Havana Biennial, Cuba [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Intangibles at Afropixel, Off program of the Dak’Art Biennale, Dakar, Senegal [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Designing South Africa – presentations, book launch and research trip, Brazil [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Rose de Vents Numériques publication launched in Dakar at Afropixel [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Temporary Museum of Art intervention in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> South Africa’s Role in Astronomy, commissioned Stamp design artwork by the South African Post Office
> Astronomical reflections, 5-channel video, sound and laser performance in the Innes Telescope dome, the Johannesburg Observatory
> Cave, artworks featured on the Joburg Art Fair and Drawings on Origin exhibition at Gifa, Johannesburg
> The Vertical Gaze in collaboration with WORK, features by the Nirox Foundation at ARCO, Madrid
> Between, solo exhibition at NIROX Projects, Johannesburg
> Art-Design objects in collaboration with WORK exhibited at Arts on Main, Johannesburg
> Re-align Lanseria, site-specific print and drawing series for Monaghan Farm, Lanseria
> Sutherland Reflections exhibition in collaboration with Bronwyn Lace at Circa Gallery in conjunction with Dark Energy, images from Hubble, Johannesburg
> My Room at the Centre of the Universe a film by Africa meets Africa, artistic director and concept development in collaboration with Bronwyn Lace.
> Below/Above, lino print and video artworks for the Artist Proof Studio Coming of Age exhibition, Johannesburg Art Gallery
> The Space between the Stars, solo exhibition of a suite of prints, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> Group exhibition: Transnational Modernism: South Africa and Japan, UJ Gallery, Johannesburg
> Backlight 1&2, contemporary photographic showcase, Michael Meyersfeld Studio, Johannesburg
> Hobbs/Neustetter VJ for the Urban House Party and launch of MOAD events, Johannesburg
> Installation and print and drawing series for Transcode, dialogues around intermeida practice, UNISA Gallery, Pretoria
> Featured artist on the documentary film Love ya by Carola Mair, Austria
> Participating artist on African Cosmos: Stellar Arts at The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, USA
> Public art research, presentations and project preparations with the Swallows Foundation UK in Newcastle
> Record label design artwork for PhonoMetak Series #9 by Wallace Records
> Temporary Museum of Art film projection for Dream City 2012, Tunisia [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Thinkers Dome – permanent artist observation dome artwork at the South African Astronomical Observatory, Sutherland
2011
> Light and sound installation and photographic artwork for HORSE: Multiple Views of a Singular Beast, Circa and Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg
> Soundlines II - a drawing for sound interpretation – event at POP Art, Johannesburg
> JNB8365VIE, exhibition of Courier Dialogue with Walter Stach at Terra Hominibus, Vienna, Austria
> Study of the Vertical Gaze – solo studio exhibition at NIROX Projects, Johannesburg
> Jo’burg Design Fair, featured artist with Gallery AOP, Hyde Park, Johannesburg
> 18 Sketches Of You, exhibition at the Sober and Lonely Institute with Bronwyn Lace, Johannesburg
> Courier Dialogue – drawing exchange project via Austrian Embassy courier Johannesburg-Vienna
> Marks and Sounds – experiments in collaboration with Jill Richards
> Vision – Main Street life – permanent sculptural installation on the rooftop of Main Street Life, Johannesburg
> Participating artist on the group show Water and the Thirsty Planet curated by Marion Dixon at the Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg
> Interventions at the Johannesburg Observatory, Johannesburg
> Sutherland dark and silent – art interventions and event with Bronwyn Lace, Sutherland
> Imaginary Futures – project in collaboration with Nina Czegledy for ISEA2011, Istanbul
> Invited artist to a Night of a 1000 drawings, Johannesburg
> Group exhibition, Satellite Spaces, Johannesburg
> Borderless:Alex-Zimbabwe-Mozambique, interventions in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Alexandra Township, supported by SDC programme of Pro Helvetia Cape Town [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> The Visual Collider in Bratislava - exhibtion with Nina Czegledy at Enter Gallery, Slovakia
> The Visual Collider in Budapest - exhibition with Nina Czegledy at 2B Gallery, Hungary
> The Visual Collider in Istanbul - artist book presentation with Nina Czegledy at the Karakoy Communication Center, Sabanci University, Turkey
> The Visual Collider in Vienna – exhibition with Nina Czegledy at the Machfeld, Austria
> The Visual Collider – group exhibition with Nina Czegledy at HICA, the Highland Institute for Contemporary Art, Dores, Scottland
> Entracte presented at The Underground, the Surface and the Edges curated by Leora Farber and Anthea Buys, Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne, Germany [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Customer Care Public Artwork commission – Port Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Hand/Machine: Bamako-Djenne, Mali [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Living as Form – group exhibition by Creative Time, New York [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Smoke and Building Projections: St Pierre and Fort de France, Martinique [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
2010
> in motion. – solo exhibition at Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> Erosion (performance) presented at the Public Art Around The World opening event produced by AAW Art Project Management at Burgher’s Walk, Sandton Central, Sandton
> Flare - Kruger Street experimental intervention Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg
> Snow Groomer I and II (video artworks) and Reflection (site specific performance) on group exhibition Ecotopian States curated by Jacki McInnes, The University of Johannesburg Gallery, Johannesburg
> Dialogue Tower - collaborative drawing project during the 2010 FIFA-World Cup with Walter Stach, Right on the Rim, Johannesburg
> Unravel I-V (digital light drawings) on the group exhibition Draw Links – an exhibition of contemporary drawings, Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> Vredefort Dome II on the group exhibition 11 Freunde in Baden Wurttemberg, Germany
> Between Heaven and Earth – permanent exhibition on the 5th floor of Main Street Life, Johannesburg
> Public Artwork commission by the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Development Agency for the Earnest Oppenheimer Park in collaboration with Sipho Gwala, Johannesburg [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Windows of our Heroes and Heroines – public Artwork commission by the eThekwini Municipality for an artwork at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Kwa Mashu, Durban [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> URBANET: Alex/ Zimbabwe/Mozambique – supported by SDC programme of Pro Helvetia Cape Town. Interventions in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Alexandra Township [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Entracte – in partnership with Ker Thiossane and Afropixels 2010, Dakar [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Depth threats - residency and exhibition with Stiftelsen 3,14 Gallery, Bek Center, USF and Maia Urstad, Bergen, Norway [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> URBANET Hillbrow/Dakar/Hillbrow presented at Arco 2010 on the African Pavilion hosted by Ker Thiossane [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Featured Artist at the 2010 Johannesburg Art Fair by Gallery AOP
> Between Heaven and Earth exhibition at the Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees 2010 in Oudtshoorn
> 1886-1896 – 12 Decades Hotel artist room in collaboration with Jonathan Liebmann for Main Street Life, Johannesburg
> Vision – Main Street life – marquette, sketch and plans for a permanent installation on the rooftop of Main Street life development. Johannesburg
> The Visual Collider in Banff – artist book presentation and projection with Nina Czegledy at The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada
> The Visual Collider in New York – artist book presentation and projection with Nina Czegledy at Art on Dobbin, Brooklyn, New York
2009
> The observatory in the making – observation structures and sites of discovery. Solo exhibition at Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> Sutherland interventions - interventions in the landscape of the South African Astronomical Observatory documented by Mike Carelse. Sutherland
> Return to Sutherland 09 – land art interventions and kite flying event with Bronwyn Lace, Sutherland
> Sutherland reflected – exhibition at Goethe on Main, Arts on Main with Bronwyn Lace.
> Soundlines - a drawing for sound interpretation – event and CD launch at Sound and Motion Studios, Johannesburg
> Chasing Light – sounds of the northern lights by James Webb, light, water and laser intervention Outlet Project Room, Pretoria
> Fietas kites – workshops, flying events and rooftop kite flying experiments with Bronwyn Lace, Johannesburg
> Stadium-Scape / Ocean-Scape - commissioned public artwork in perspex and adhesive vinyl for the Durban Soccer Stadium, Durban [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Public Art should have at least three functions – site-specific installation for the African Perspectives conference and exhibition The Heart of the African City. Pretoria [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> URBANET 80+1 LINZ/JHB for Ars Electronica’s 80+1 – a journey around the world, Linz, Austria [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> The Visual Collider – launch exhibition with Nina Czegledy, Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, Cultural Centre Vela Luka, Korčula, Croatia
> Creative Relationships – presentation and launch of UEFA CUP drawing book with Walter Stach, Right on the Rim, Johannesburg
> Stach and Neustetter at Right on the Rim – collaborative drawing exhibition, projection and site-specific interventions, Arts on Main, Johannesburg
> Public artwork installation of Euro2008 Art and Soccer event paintings at Arts on Main, Johannesburg
> Documentation of Parade – a Project for Linz 2009 Kulturhauptstadt Europa by Peter Kuthan, Austria [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> one moment – Mount Teide, Tenerife (Canary Islands) – solo exhibition at Gallery AOP, Johannesburg
> The Observatory I. Sculptural sketch for an artist Observatory in Sutherland exhibited on Double Body: being in space, at the FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg
> Vredefort interventions II - night interventions for Curious Pictures television series: A Country Imagined at the Vredefort Dome meteorite crater
> Oudtshoorn Trace – land art drawing with Bronwyn Lace for the 2009 KKNK, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
> Everything will not be OK! - internet artwork: www.isitok.net for the show Internet Art in the Global South http://jafnetart.digitalarts.wits.ac.za/ at the Joburg Art Fair 2009 with Entelect Software
> Work in Progress – installation artwork at Galley AOP booth06 Joburg Art Fair 2009
> C30 intervention Goethe Institut Stockholm and donated artwork to Goethe Institut Johannesburg in collaboration with David Andrew
> On Location – C30 collaborative presentation and interventions with David Andrew in Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden
> Sutherland Reflections - community participation project in collaboration with Bronwyn Lace at South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and Southern African Largest Telescope (SALT) for IYA2009, Sutherland
2008
> A Rough-Cut through Alex – experimental documentary and screening event commissioned by the Austrian Embassy in South Africa, Alexandra [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> one moment - solo exhibition at AOP Gallery, Johannesburg
> Vredefort interventions - night interventions and performances Space Camp project for the NYDT at the Vredefort Dome meteorite crater
> Traces - land-art intervention in collaboration with Bronwyn Lace. Nirox Foundation, Cradle on Humankind
> Black Out - public intervention project for Travesia at the CAAM, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> BRT Public Artwork – site-specific artwork for the Twist Street Bus Rapid Transport Station, Joubert Park [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Metro Centre Public Artwork – site-specific installation for the new Metro Centre Visitors Building, Braamfontein [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> C30 Artroom meets Klassenraum 1,2,3 – collaborative interventions with David Andrew in the Goethe Institute Johannesburg with PJ Simelane High-School, Soweto
> Euro2008 Art and Soccer event in collaboration with Walter Stach. The Bassline, Johannesburg
> MobileLightDrawing - interactive mobile phone performance for Samsung phone launch, Johannesburg
> SOUNDLINES – sound intervention and installation for Jozi and the (M)other City curated by Carine Zaayman. Michaelis Gallery, Cape Town
> in two minds - artist book launched at the Johannesburg Art Fair and solo exhibition at AOP Gallery, Johannesburg
> Joeys – in collaboration with Machfeld , KunstMedianLabor Kunsthaus Graz, Austria [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> C30 – collaborative interventions in PJ Simelane High-School, Soweto and exhibition at the Sandton Civic Gallery with David Andrew
Up to 2007
> Hillbrow-Dakar –Hillbrow – University of Johannesburg Gallery, The Colour Line Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, Kher Thiossane Media Lab, Dak’Art06 Biennale (Off), Dakar, Senegal [Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Still Experimenting Still Playing – site specific installation, Outlet, Pretoria
> Still Experimenting Still Playing – site specific installation, The Parking Gallery, Johannesburg
> Action 1-3 – select guerilla artworks interventions into public platforms around art, technology and 3rd world debates – UNESCO WSIS Prep. Conference, St Petersburg Russia. Austria Millennium Goals program and parliament presentation, Vienna
> Experiment02 – site-specific exhibition with Nathaniel Stern at Franchise Gallery, Johannesburg
> Creative collaboration The Trinity Session: MODM – Museum Of Dead Media - installation at Design Indaba, ongoing production, Johannesburg [*The Trinity Session]
> getawayexperiment.net – collaborative net art commission for Turbulence with Nathaniel Stern, Johannesburg
> Digital Frottage - experimental production of digital prints trough scanning, copying and photographically exposing moving and still image on the laptop, Johannesburg
> Mobile_intervention - installation and flyer campaign and mobile phone picture-message artwork for the Makeshift Show Johannesburg Art Gallery
> MOBILElocalSYSTEMS – installation, flyer campaign and mobile phone picture-message artwork for the Mobilise exhibition at the Digital Hub, Dublin
> Mobile Office: Creative collaboration The Trinity Session - Transmediale.03, Berlin [*The Trinity Session]
> Creative collaboration The Trinity Session: Detours R Us - installation artwork for Learning From* Neue Geselshaft der Bildenden Kunst, Berlin and Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna [*The Trinity Session]
> Creative collaborator with SEARCH and Radiotopia for the Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria and online [*The Trinity Session]
> Creative collaboration The Trinity Session: SAFEFOOD II for the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg and online [*The Trinity Session]
> Creative collaboration The Trinity Session: SAFEFOOD for the Turin Biennale, Turin, Johannesburg and online [*The Trinity Session]
> Clinical Capsule – multimedia performance collaboration with Jeannette Ginslov and Andre van Rensberg, performed for the Arts Alive International Dance Festival, at the Dance Umbrella in Johannesburg during February and June and at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in July
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Curatorial
> Something is not quite right... curated Article Biennale 2010 in public space with Hege Tapio, Stavanger, Norway
> Public art programmes, Johannesburg, South Africa [*The Trinity Session]
> Tester DVD and Book Publication, South African video art, Spain – South Africa [*The Trinity Session]
> Art, Activism and Convergence, Unfold DVD Magazine, TBWA, Johannesburg
> Arts Programme for the Red Bull Music Academy, Cape Town [*The Trinity Session]
> +27 Sessions, SA contribution to the Translocal Channel, Walker Art Centre [*The Trinity Session]
> Curatorial programme for the Art in Big Brother II SA reality TV show [*The Trinity Session]
> SEARCH, an ELOBBY project for the ARS Electronica Festival 2002 [*The Trinity Session]
> Radiotopia – South Africa Sessions, ARS Electronica Festival 2002 [*The Trinity Session]
> online | offline exhibition: digital identity and aesthetics on and off the web, WWW Conference, RAU University [*_sanman]
> SWITCH ON/OFF a New Media Art Exhibition at the Oudtshoorn Festival in April [*sanman]
> Co-curator of the MTN Digital/ Electronic Art Exhibition, Gertrude Posel Gallery, Johannesburg
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Ventures Initiated/ Developed
> Public Art Programmes for Hillbrow Berea Yeoville, Johannesburg, Tswane, Soweto, Evaton [*The Trinity Session]
> UNESCO Digi-Arts Africa: research and implementation of strategic plan [*The Trinity Session]
> Isea2004 Africa Network Meeting, coordination and facilitation, Helsinki, Finland [*The Trinity Session]
> The | PREMISES – Gallery in Johannesburg [*The Trinity Session]
> Sandton Central Public Art Programme [*The Trinity Session]
> Cultural Arc Public Art programme and university courses on Spatial Practice [*The Trinity Session]
> Regeneration, inner city artists magazine, developmental project [*The Trinity Session]
> +++ Visual Art component for the CICI Creative Inner City Initiative – urban regeneration through creative industries in partnership with JPP [*The Trinity Session]
> _sanman (Southern African New Media Art Network)
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Consultation
> Project Evaluator: MDG Projects 2004/5 – Austrian Development Agency, workshops and reports, Vienna
> Prix 2004/5/6 – Ars Electronica jury advisor member, Linz, Austria
> Isea2004 UNESCO Prize Jury member, Helsinki, Finland
> Foundation – Langloise, invited consultant to Africa programme, Montreal, Canada
> E-tester.net Forum at http://www.e-tester.net, Spain, node
> UNESCO DIGIARTS PROJECT, Virtual Library Sub Portal, member of the Advisory Committee
> Leonardo Electronic Almanac (http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/ LEA/) corresponding Editor
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Presentations / Conferences / Symposia / Publications
> Water from Space; Art as powerful bridge between fantasy and fact presentation in collaboration with Nina Czegledy at the Water from Space Session at International Astronautical Congress (IAC) Prague
> Public Art presentation for the ArchitectureZA2010, Johannesburg
> Moments of Inspiration and Playful Interventions presentation at TEDx Johannesburg 2009
> Analogue and Digital Anecdotes and Artworks from South Africa – Third Text: Volume 23 Issue 3 2009
> The Observatory in the making, Presentation at On Making: Integrating Approaches to Practice-Led Research in Art and Design, University of Johannesburg
> Guest Artist presentation at Stiftelsen 3,14 Gallery in cooperation with BEK, Maur Prosjekter/Maia Urstad in Bergen and at the Tromso Art Academy, Norway
> Discussion participant on Device Art at Kitchen.hu organized by Nina Czegledy, Budapest, Hungary
> Shaping public space through creative interventions for the International seminar for Creative industries 2009, Klaipeda, Lithuania
> Conference presentation on New territories and cultures of the digital for Positions in flux: On the changing role of the artist and the institution at the Netherland Media Art Institute, Amsterdam
> On Location – C30 collaborative presentation and interventions with David Andrew in Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden
> Arco06 - International art Experts Forum: Directions on Digital Art: Expert, Madrid
> Sessions eKapa, International Art Meeting, Cape Town
> UNESCO Digiarts AFRICA at ARS Electronica 2006 – convener and participant, Linz
> World Summit Contributory Conference on ICT and Creativity. 2-3 June. Vienna, Austria
> UNESCO between two phases of the World Summit on the information Society. St. Petersburg, Russia
> Wokshop - 2weeks: alternative uses of digital skills, Vega School of Brand Communication, Johannesburg
> Play with Tech – 3 day UNESCO Children’s workshop at Isea2004, Helsinki, Finland
> Creative mobile action, presentation at the Vodacom Mobile Live Conference, Sandton
> Visiting lecturer – Master Students ISNM International School of New Media, Luebeck, Germany
> Net Art Lectures at the University of the Witwatersrand, Digital Art, Johannesburg
> Symposia Presentations at the ARS Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria [*The Trinity Session]
> Diamond 2002 conference on art and business, Aarhus, Denmark [*The Trinity Session]
> SYSTEMSIMPERFECT, invited speaker for the New Media Underground Festival, Cape Town
> Discussant: New Media Art in South Africa, Total Global, Museum fur Gegenwartskunst Basel, Switzerland
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Residencies
> Ampersand Foundation, New York, USA
> The Banff Centre for the Liminal Screens program as peer advisor, Banff, Canada
> USF Residency, Bergen, Norway
> For Sutherland Reflections, hosted by South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and Southern African Largest Telescope (SALT) for IYA2009, Sutherland, South Africa
> Collaboration with Machfeld, KunstMedienLabor Kunsthaus Graz, Austria [*Hobbs/Neustetter]
> Station Mir, Normandy France [*The Trinity Session]
> Kunstraum, Linz Austria [*The Trinity Session]
> Invited Visiting Artist to the Recontres Video Art Plastique, Normandy, France. [*The Trinity Session]
> Website Residency Programme with CCASA and Sussuta Boe in Brussels, Belgium
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Research areas
> Arts, Science and Technology and everyday innovation
> Digital Art in Africa [*The Trinity Session]
> Artministration – the art or administration and business development in the visual arts industry in South Africa [*The Trinity Session]
> Spatial Practice / Public Art [*The Trinity Session]
> The visual arts and crafts industries in the SADC region (ILO) [*The Trinity Session]
> New media art and business in South Africa [*_sanman]
> The Potential and Limitations of Web Art – A South African Perspective (MAFA)