Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau

Linz, Austria

Chris M.: Who were some of your influences as a beginning/upcoming artist?

Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau: Our biggest influence comes from Peter Weibel who was our teacher at the Städelschule Art Academy in Frankfurt, Germany. We did a post-graduate study at Peter's Institute for New Media and it was one of the first places where one could learn how to create interactive art systems and learn how to program freely with very fast and expensive computers. The second biggest influence comes from Roy Ascott with whom we studied at the Planetary Collegium in Wales in the UK.

CM: What were some obstacles that you had to overcome to make it where you are today?

CS & LM: In fact, we were quite lucky, because when we started to create interactive artworks in 1991 and already our very first art work called "Interactive Plant Growing" from 1992, got huge feedback and we received exhibition invitations all over the world. The media art scene was quite small back then, and there was a huge interest in interactive art shows, mostly in the context of festivals, special art and science exhibitions and technological exhibitions. One obstacle we encountered back then though, is that most contemporary art people said that this type of interactive media art was not real art. This perception has fortunately changed now.

CM: What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?

CS & LM: I suppose for me it would be to work with plants, as a botanist or as a gardener or something with outdoor sports. As for Laurent he has been doing these kinds of artistic activities with electronic media since he was a teenager and he has not been considering taking any other directions in life since then.

CM: Can you name a few things that you are the proudest of in your career?

CS & LM: Well I guess the Golden Nica Award in 1994 at Ars Electronica Festival is a highlight, but also all the other awards we got were really great. As for long term impact, we are happy that media art and the types of interactive art works we do and did still are relevant and keep fascinating people.

CM: How would you describe your ideal work environment?

CS & LM: To have more time to create artworks and do research.

CM: What are some things that you like to do outside of creating?

CS & LM: For me it is gardening, hiking and skiing, and for Laurent it is actually working with electronics.

CM: Do you feel like you are competing against other artist?

CS & LM: Not really, in fact it is really inspiring if some of our colleagues create great works, and all in all we feel that we sit in the same boat. If they are successful, then the whole field will get more attention and recognition.

CM: If you could do it all over, what would you do differently, if anything at all?

CS & LM: Not really anything different.

CM: Why art?

CS & LM: Because it provides the liberty to realize ones´ visions and in the ideal case a good artwork also touches people and provides meaning to them. This is very gratifying.

See more from Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau at http://www.interface.ufg.ac.at/christa-laurent/