monochrom is an art-technology-philosophy group having its seat in Vienna and Zeta Draconis. monochrom is an unpeculiar mixture of proto-aesthetic fringe work, pop attitude, subcultural science, context hacking and political activism. Our mission is conducted everywhere, but first and foremost in culture-archeological digs into the seats (and pockets) of ideology and entertainment. monochrom has existed in this (and almost every other) form since 1993.
Yeah. Well, you expect high weirdness from a writer-director like Johannes Grenzfurthner, who fronts monochrom and is known for the freakiest shenanigans and the most thorough academic theories – and you get a lovin’ spoonful of all of it delivered through this production. Decades after the disastrous “Google Wars,” a shady media tycoon (with a … Read more
(German language.) (Click to enlarge.)
Oh yes. Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl is a feature length sci fi comedy set in a post apocalyptic future in which the world has been devastated by the “Google Wars.” The film is the first feature length production from Austrian art and technology group Monochrom. It was directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner. More here … Read more
Little Arse Elektronika shout-out in Playboy, March 2014. Voila!
Stefan Tiron wrote a great review of our feature film “Die Gstettensaga”. I recently had the great satisfaction to watch a preview of a very fresh postapocalyptic feature film + a directorial debut, that premiered on Austria’s ORF in March this year. What I was asking myself this time was to try and appreciate an … Read more
“Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl” contains a text insert similar to watermarks used in festival viewing copies: “This viewing copy is provided for awards consideration only.” The text insert asks the viewer to report the film as copyright infringement by calling a premium-rate phone number (1.09 EUR/minute). The film aired on Austrian national television … Read more
Sure, classic nerds might be into MythBusters, Magic: the Gathering, and Minecraft. But they’re also into sex. In fact, the crossover between sex and the more traditional realms of nerd interest is longstanding; science fiction, for example, is frequently pointed at as a source of progressive and even transgressive sexual theory. In devising alternate universes, authors, … Read more
As it emerged in the 90s, the concept “communication guerilla” was, not least of all, a response to the exhaustion of traditional leftist activism after the fall of the Berlin wall. The search for new forms of praxis led (at least in some points) to a new, transversal praxis beyond the realm of the “old” … Read more
A handbook for artistic strategies in real politics. How does art play a role in social and political struggles all over the world? Can it be a tool with which to shape the world rather than just reflect it? Following on from the “Truth is concrete” 24/7 marathon camp at the 2012 steirischer herbst festival, … Read more
The term “context hacking” –like its older mimetic sibling “communication guerrilla” — refers to unconventional forms of communication and/or intervention in more conventional processes of communication. Context hacking is a specific style of political action drawing from a watchful view of the paradoxes and absurdities of power, turning these into the starting point for interventions … Read more