Christina Kubisch facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Christina Kubisch
Christina Kubisch (in Darmstadt, August 1974)
Born	31 January 1948 (1948-01-31) (age 77) Bremen, Germany
Style	Composer, performance artist, electronic music, tape, professor and flautist

Christina Kubisch (born 31 January 1948) is a German artist. She is a composer, sound artist, and flautist. She creates art using both electronic and acoustic sounds. Her work often mixes sound and visual art. She wants people to experience art with many senses. Christina is known for finding sounds and music in unusual places. These are places where you might not expect to hear art.

Early Life and Learning

Christina Kubisch was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1948. She started by studying painting from 1967 to 1968. This was at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, Germany.

Then, she switched to music. From 1969 to 1972, she studied flute, piano, and composition. She learned at the Academy of Music in Hamburg, Germany. She also studied at the Jazz Academy of Graz, Austria. She continued her music studies in Zurich until 1974.

In 1974, she moved to Milan, Italy. There, she studied composition and electronic music. She earned her diploma in 1976.

Her Artistic Journey

Christina Kubisch began performing in 1974. She held concerts in Europe and the United States. From 1974 to 1980, she worked with Italian artist Fabrizio Plessi. Together, they created video concerts and art installations.

In 1980, she started making her own sound installations. These are art pieces that use sound in a space. She also began working with electroacoustic music. Some of her early works include Two and Two (1977). This was a live performance using different art forms. Another was Tempo Liquido (1979), a simple, repeating music piece.

Exploring New Sounds

From 1980 to 1981, Christina learned about electronics. She studied at the Technical Institute of Milan. She started working with something called electromagnetic induction. This is a way to create electric currents using magnetic fields.

She began making sound installations outside of concert halls. Her 1981 work, Il Respiro del Mare, was important. It was the first time she used electromagnetic induction. In this piece, you could hear electronic sounds with special headphones.

In 1982, she showed her art at the Venice Biennale. This is a very famous art exhibition. In 1986, she started using ultraviolet light in her art. She moved to Berlin in 1987. During this time, she created works like On Air (1984) and Night Flight (1987).

Teaching and New Ideas

Christina received an award in 1988. She also got a special grant to live and work at Barkenhoff in Germany. In 1989, she became a teacher at the Jan van Eyck Academy. She also received more grants for her projects.

From 1990 to 1991, she started using solar energy in her art. She also taught as a guest lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Münster. She continued teaching as a guest professor in Berlin until 1994.

One of her well-known pieces is Sechs Spiegel (1994). For this, she used vibrating drinking glasses. The sounds were recorded and released as a CD. The way the sounds repeated depended on the size of a German church.

In 1994, Christina became a professor. She taught sculpture and media art in Saarbrücken, Germany. She held this job until 2013. In 1996, she created The Clocktower Project. This was a permanent art piece at MASS MoCA in Massachusetts. She brought an old clock tower back to life. She made and recorded sounds by ringing, hitting, and brushing the clock bells. In 1997, she became a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.

Famous "Electrical Walks"

Since 1999, Christina has received many awards and honors. In 2003, she started her Electrical Walks projects. These became some of her most famous works.

Electrical Walks are like guided tours through a city. People wear special headphones designed by Christina. These headphones let them hear hidden electronic sounds in the city. These sounds come from power lines, security cameras, and other things. She has created these walks in many countries. Public walks have been held in cities like Berlin, London, and New York.

Christina continues to create art today. She lives near Berlin.

Selected Music Works

Here are some of the music pieces Christina Kubisch has released:

• "Two and Two" LP, with Fabrizio Plessi, 1976
• "Tempo Liquido" LP, with Fabrizio Plessi, 1979
• "On Air" MC, 1984
• "Iter Magneticum" MC, 1986
• "Night Flights" LP, 1987
• "Sechs Spiegel" CD, 1995
• "Dreaming Of A Major Third" CD, 1998 (for The Clocktower Project)
• "Vier Stücke [Four Pieces]" CD, 2000
• "Le Jardin Magnétique" CD-R, 2001
• "Diapason" CD, 2002
• "Twelve Signals" CD, 2004
• "Armonica" CD, 2005
• "Five Electrical Walks" CD, 2007
• "Magnetic Flights" CD, 2011
• "Mono Fluido" CD, 2011
• "Mosaïque Mosaic" CD, with Eckehard Güther, 2013

Other Important Works

• Emergency Solos (composition for solo flute)
• Il Respiro Del Mare, 1981
• Conference of Trees
• The Clocktower Project
• Dinner Music

Awards and Honors

Christina Kubisch has received many awards and grants for her art. Some of these include:

• German Industrial Association award (1988)
• Composition grant from the city of Berlin (2000)
• Honorary German Sound Art award (2008)
• Ars Electronica Honorary Mention (2008)
• Saarländischer Rundfunk Media Art award (2009)

She has also been invited to special artist programs around the world. These include places in Canada, the United States, Sweden, Denmark, and Cameroon.