A beginners guide to... Daniel Knorr

Jodi Rose in conversation with Daniel Knorr about making art: 'when idea becomes form,' a new way of energy and materialisation in Berlin February 2011.

The third in a series of conversations with artists, creative activists and thinkers about the world we live in and how we can think, act and imagine differently.

Daniel Knorr „Awake Asleep”

May 29 - June 14 2009

Palace of Culture and Science

"Awake/Asleep" is the latest performance by Daniel Knorr, Romanian conceptual artist based in Berlin. Starting on May 29 Knorr will symbolically overtake the monster-skyscraper Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. Whenever he wakes up, he'll send a text message which will turn the Palace illumination on. Once Knorr goes to sleep, the Palace will be turned off. Turned into a giant bedside lamp, the Palace will hence loose it's overpowering political meaning and become a household utensil of an ever-travelling artist.

The project is organized in partnership with the Warsaw's History Meeting House as part of the "Wyłącz System/Turn the System off"

Während Jahrzehnten ein verhasstes Symbol, heute domestiziert: der Palast der Kultur und Wissenschaft in Warschau (Foto: Bartosz Stawiarski)

Awake Asleep - Daniel Knorr's Solo Exhibition

by Fei Contemporary Art Center
Location: Fei Contemporary Art Center
Date: 2 Nov - 1 Dec 2008

The work is a continuous communication with the public and consists of switching on and off an electronic device (e.g. LED, a lightbox, a lightning space or a light commercial) through the internet or just by the information given by myself when I wake up or go to bed for the duration of my entire life. Awake = the light is put on, Asleep = the light is put out. The work has as a basis the idea of “materialization“ of human (artist) existence in public and private spaces using the “logics“ or “basics“ of communication with electronic devices or artificial environments, namely the first step into the representation system: I and 0 。

The Kunsthalle Fridericianum has invited the Berlin-based conceptual and performance artist Daniel Knorr (born in Bucharest, 1968) to put on a four-week solo show in the form of a performance entitled Scherben bringen Glück (Shards bring good luck).

Knorr’s art focuses on the concept of materialisation. Performance versus everyday life as well as public versus private space and the relationships between artist and audience are some significant aspects of his work. Pursuing the principle of conceptual art, Knorr explores the aspect of materialisation in art, calling it into question on various levels. Thoughts, ideas and feelings, but also identity, language and text all contribute to the realisation of his art.