"Alias in Wonderland", works by students of "Digital Art", 2009, photo: Sue Sellinger, www.suesellinger.com
"Allure de Wonderland", Gaspar Battha, interactive video installation, 2009, photos: Sue Sellinger
"Alias in Wonderland", Christian Thüringer: "M.u.R.", 2009
"Alias in Wonderland", works by students of "Digital Art", 2009, photo: Sue Sellinger, www.suesellinger.com
Catalogue "Alias in Wonderland", concept: Bernhard Faiss, Lydia Lindner, Virgil Widrich, design Bernhard Faiss, ISBN 978-3-85211-152-0

Alias in Wonderland

Exhibition of the Digital Art Department/University of Applied Arts Vienna,
June 25th to July12 2009, Freiraum/quartier21, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Wien

Text for the exhibition by Univ.-Prof. Virgil Widrich and Dipl. Ing. Arch. Nicolaj Kirisits:
The shaping of reality takes place using references and images. In the digital age, the number of images has grown exponentially. In computing, a reference point is designated as an "alias". The alias was invented in order to be able to use memory capacity in a more efficient manner.  The alias is subject to size limitations, but nonetheless already provides an idea of the original to which it refers. Thus an alias in a computer is a signpost to a larger file and a reference to data that exists elsewhere. Accordingly, in other words, an alias is a type of key, or "rabbit hole" to memory. 

In the economics of attentiveness, the alias can also be understood as a unit of currency. The more frequently a scientist employs quotations, an artist creates recipes or a star is commented upon, the higher the social and monetary value. At the same time, the alias constitutes a reduction of the original, whereby images are more easily scaled down than artistic formats such as theatre, performance or interactive art.  Artistic formats, which cannot employ reduction as a quality, are among the losers. By contrast, there are banal interventions, the reduced images of which, attract attention and can be easily disseminated in digital forms as an alias, and thus achieve undreamt of success.
Like everything else, art is created in the mind of the recipient and therefore, even the original can be understood as a reference to the actual place where reality is created. 
The concept of the "Alias in Wonderland" exhibition facilitates the simultaneous and compact representation of the diversity of both the "Digital Art" class and its work. For every "original", an alias has been created, whereby on occasion the alias can itself be the original. An area 30x30x30cm has been stipulated for the exhibits, which are contained in a mobile base. Visitors in Wonderland can move every alias and two docking stations are available for the release of classified, supplementary information and media content from the work. The originals are elsewhere.
Artistic director of the exhibition: Virgil Widrich
Exhibition architecture: Nicolaj Kirisits
Environmental concept and programming: Thomas Walcher, Joseph Knierzinger, Philipp Drössler, Gaspar Battha with the assistance of Klaus Filip

Catalogue:
Concept: Bernhard Faiss, Lydia Lindner, Virgil Widrich
Editing: Veronika Schnell
Proofreading: Franziska Echtinger, Karl Heinz Javorsky
Translations: John Cima, Nita Tandon
Design: Bernhard Faiss
Copyright © 2009 Publisher
Photographs © Ella Krampl, Sue Sellinger and artists
Texts © by the authors and artists
Printed by REMAprint, 2009
ISBN 978-3-85211-152-0

Works by: Al Bird Gore, Gaspar Battha, Jonas Bohatsch, Alexander Doliner, Philipp Drössler, Stefan Fahrngruber, Dominik Grünbühel, Robert Günther, Holger Guggi, Gottfried Haider, Raoul Haspel, Josef Knierzinger, Paul Leitner, Korinna Lindinger, Robert Mathy, Georg Novotny, Jan Perschy, Simon Repp, David Röder, Laura Russo, Karl Salzmann, Laura Skocek, Nora Skrabania, Julia Staudach, Florian Steinringer, Achim Stromberger, Corinne Studer, Kathrin Stumreich, Nikola Tasic, Christian Thüringer, Nina Tommasi, Benjamin Weber, Nicholas Wormus, Merlin Wyschka and Ilknur Yalvac.