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.
For years Johannes Grenzfurthner’s monochrom business card read “Johannes Grenzfurthner / Anthropophag” — and that’s still in some databases. Example: cultural department of the city of Munich.
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
We are working on something new… Hedonistika is a multi-modal event that brings together food scholars, artists, and roboticists to examine the innumerable (and often hidden) ways in which technology and food are related. By engaging with the hegemony-challenging ideology of hacking, participants will seek to interrogate and expose the mutually constructive bonds of food … Read more
“Kiki and Bubu: RATED R US” is a sock puppet adventure about Internet censorship and love directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner of Austrian art & tech group Monochrom. It is the sixth installment of the Kiki and Bubu series. Link
Unbelievable, but Kiki and Bubu are back! When we created the first couple of episodes for Boing Boing TV in 2008, who would have thought that the two wooly Neo-Marxist fellows would still be around in 2012? Well, they are! Here is their newest and most epic (50 minutes!) puppet extravaganza! Link
Our favorite sock puppets Kiki and Bubu have some feelings, so they sign up for an online dating site. When the People of China want to become their friend, they are excited. However, sending the People of China a video of themselves proves to be difficult: Their content gets flagged as inappropriate and taken down … Read more
Nice review of our research paper shooter “Portraying The Terran Condition: An Approach To Simulate A Civilization”… “This 7D (backwards compatible to 2D) world simulation depicts six different key events in the history of Terra (‘Earth’), a low-tech civilization that self-destructed several aeons ago. Based on the relatively few biological and cultural artifacts, a team … Read more
An interview with monochrom’s Günther Friesinger on the Russian website Cyland. Link (Russian)
This 7D (backwards compatible to 2D) world simulation depicts six different key events in the history of Terra (“Earth”), a low-tech civilization that self-destructed several aeons ago. Based on the relatively few biological and cultural artifacts, a team of multi-AI minds was able to recreate a stunningly accurate depiction of this ancient civilization. Created by … Read more
Our new artist in residence arrived! Damien Di Fede is a creative programmer, composer, and founding member of experimental game collective Kokoromi. As a game programmer, he contributed to Red Fly Studio’s titles Mushroom Men, Food Network: Cook or be Cooked! and Thor: God of Thunder. Recent projects include audio engineering on Tiger Style’s Waking … Read more