Ecstatic Media. Media Art Reconsidered

The ceaselessly moving imageries of novel media and technologies can provoke intense experiences, and they can induce extraordi­nary emotional and psychological states. “Ecstatic media” designates two aspects: on the one hand, the potency of media consum­er products such as videogames or beauty filters, which fuel emotional and social yearn­ings; and on the other hand, media art’s strategy of confronting us with media struc­tures in exaggerated form. Artists focus on particular characteristics of media and exam­ine their impact by intensifying and amplify­ing them.Media artists have long used “ecstatic me­dia” in an effort to expose the technological, aesthetic, and psychological effects of me­dia. The exhibition presents impressive works—from avant-garde film and video art to computer animation and data engineer­ing—to trace an alternative history of media art.It is based on the holdings of the Generali Foundation Collection—Permanent Loan to the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, which is dedicated to the preservation and scholarly study of one of the most important.