“The eye listens, the eye speaks”
with “direct messaget” from Thilo Seibt
Gewölbekeller im Kulturzentrum am Münster (Konstanz)
Wessenbergstr. 43, 78462 Konstanz
exhibition
11.04. – 07.07.2024
opening time
tue – fri 10–18
sat, sun 10-17
opening
Thursday, 08.04.2017 18:30
The eye listens, the eye speaks
At a time when we are surrounded by a flood of images, our artistic project was created as an attempt to facilitate deeper communication. We use images as a language and initiate dialogs between people. The focus is on listening to each other, listening with the eyes, so to speak: allowing the image of the other person to take effect in its complexity and experiencing its different levels. We are then challenged to respond: to express our ideas, thoughts and emotions visually, to find a new image for them. In this way, the dialogs give rise to creative connections that transcend the traditional boundaries of language.
The exhibition presents the result of two years of intensive dialog. The selection reflects the diversity of interpretations, styles and perspectives of the participating artists. “The eye listens, the eye speaks” invites visitors to discover and explore the language of images and create connections that go beyond words.
participating artist:
Adela Sanz Pascual, Barbara Brdizcka, Christian Lippuner, Daniel Schrödl, Gabriel F. Nox, Iren Böhme, Irena Šormová, Joachim Trautner, Karl Förster, Magnus Hagdorn, Marcel Schock, Martin A. Völker, Peter Krabbe, Philip Butler, Stefan Postius, Tassilo Ott, Thilo Seibt, Türkan Kentel, Ulrike Altekruse
direct message
The approach of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Tiktok or Instagram is to be able to send messages, pictures or films to a global audience or a large circle of friends. This is usually done with the intention of getting a certain amount of attention and a short response. In order to achieve this, the messages or images must stand out in the large stream of messages, must polarize, must conform to clichés. The multitude of shades of grey is increasingly being replaced by a polarizing black or white. Due to the enormous volume of messages received, responses are usually very brief. This is mainly done using standardized symbols. The other person’s thoughts are not taken up and continued, and only rarely is a verbal comment left at all. The exchange is usually over by then at the latest. There is no in-depth getting to know each other. Communication becomes more superficial on both sides, although more highlights are actually exchanged.
The change in forms and cultures of communication in everyday life has been taken up as a theme in “direct message”. Instagram is deliberately used as a medium through which the change is brought about. In addition to the global stream of messages described above, Instagram offers the possibility of direct communication. Pictures and small texts can be exchanged here. With this form of communication, which is more like writing an email or chatting, several conversations have been held in pictures.
One advantage of social media is that contact can be made with like-minded people worldwide at any time. The offer to talk was gladly accepted. As a result, a photographic dialog was conducted with ten photographers over a six-month period. In all cases, this began with one and the same photograph. They responded with a photograph, which was then answered with another photograph. The responses made reference to the content or style of the photograph received. The bilateral exchange of photographs sometimes resulted in long, very personal visual conversations. The universal language of images bridged cultural differences.
