Gerda Lampalzer.
Gerda Lampalzer is a media theorist and media artist whose special focus is artistic research. This encompasses curatorship, lectures, workshops, and publications in the field of video and media art. Her art works include installation, photography, video, concepts, and texts. She has participated in innumerable international exhibitions and presentations. Since 1993 she has collaborated with Manfred Oppermann; the artist duo LAMPALZER/OPPERMANN operate mainly in the areas of staged photography, transdisciplinary media projects, and performance lectures.
Numerous scholarships and awards, among others 2013 Austrian Art Award for Video and Media Art: 2006 Appreciation Award for Media Art Lower Austria; 2005 Karl Hofer Award of the University of the Arts Berlin; 2005 Nomination for the International Media Award for Science and Art of the ZKM Karlsruhe; 1999 Recognition Prize for Media Art Lower Austria; 1992 Austrian Advancement Award for Video Art
Thoughts Are Free / Die Gedanken sind frei
Video 02:59 / 2011
Remontage of 4 languages in one sentence: Die Gedanken sind frei
Video “The thoughts are free is both a language game and an ironic commentary on how Austria deals with the languages of its neighbors from the former “Eastern Bloc”. Four of these neighbors are briefly introduced in their mother tongues (Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovenian) and then – rearranged one frame at a time – the German sentence “The thoughts are free” are quoted. This line from the well-known old folk song, which was repeatedly connoted with struggles for independence, is translated into German using a technical trick: as a commentary on the fact that – although the Iron Curtain fell decades ago – there is still hardly anyone in Austria (excluding border regions) learns, speaks or understands the languages of mentioned neighboring countries.