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 on January 31, 1948, is a German artist who works with sound. She creates music using both electronic sounds and regular instruments. Her art often combines sounds and visuals to give people a full experience. She is known for finding music in unexpected places. Many people know her best for her "sound installations" and "electrical Walks."

About Christina Kubisch

Early Life and Studies

Christina Kubisch was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1948. She started her art journey by studying painting from 1967 to 1968. Later, she focused on music. She learned to play the flute and piano. She also studied how to compose music. She attended music academies in Hamburg, Germany, and Graz, Austria, from 1969 to 1972. 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

Kubisch moved to Milan in 1973 and began performing in 1974. She held concerts in Europe and the United States. From 1974 to 1980, she created video concerts and art installations. She worked with Italian artist Fabrizio Plessi on these projects. Her early works included a live multimedia performance called Two and Two (1977). She also created a simple music piece called Tempo Liquido (1979).

In 1980, Kubisch started making her first sound installations. These were art pieces that used sound. She also began working with electroacoustic music. This type of music combines electronic sounds with sounds from instruments.

Exploring New Sounds

From 1980 to 1981, Kubisch studied electronics in Milan. This helped her start working with something called electromagnetic induction. This is a way to create sounds using electricity. Her 1981 work Il Respiro del Mare was the first time she used this method. In this piece, you could hear electronic sounds using special headphones. This marked a new direction for her, moving her art out of traditional concert halls.

In 1982, Kubisch showed her work at the Venice Biennale. This is a very important art exhibition. In 1986, she started using ultraviolet light in her art. One of her pieces using this was called Landscape.

Teaching and International Work

In 1987, Kubisch moved to Berlin. During this time, she created pieces like On Air (1984) and Iter Magneticum (1986). She also made "Night Flight" (1987). In 1989, she became a teacher at an academy in Maastricht, Germany. From 1990 to 1991, Kubisch began creating art that used solar energy. She also taught as a guest professor in Münster and Berlin.

In 1992, she received an international art residency in New Zealand. From 1994 to 1995, Kubisch was a guest professor in Paris, France. From 1994 to 2013, she was a professor of sculpture and media art in Saarbrücken.

Famous Artworks

Kubisch's 1994 installation Sechs Spiegel is one of her well-known pieces. The sounds from this artwork were even released as a CD. The piece used the design of a German church to create rhythms. It used vibrating drinking glasses to make sounds.

In 1996, Kubisch created a permanent artwork called The Clocktower Project. This was at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). She brought an old clock tower back to life. She made and recorded sounds by hitting and brushing the clock bells with different objects. In 1997, she became a member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin.

In 2000, a special exhibition showed 20 years of Kubisch's work in Russelsheim.

Electrical Walks

In 2003, Kubisch started her Electrical Walks projects. These became some of her most famous works. These walks are like guided tours through a city. People wear special headphones designed by Kubisch. The headphones let them hear hidden electromagnetic sounds in the city. These are sounds that you normally can't hear.

She has created these walks in many countries. These include Germany, England, France, Japan, and the United States. She has also held public walks in cities like Berlin, London, and New York. In 2009 and 2010, Kubisch participated in art programs in Copenhagen and Douala, Cameroon.

Exhibitions and Music

Selected Exhibitions

Christina Kubisch's art has been shown in many places. Here are some of them:

• 1978: A history of soundcards
• 1995: Prison sentences at Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
• 1995: Christina Kubisch: Cross Examination (Sound + Light) at Moore College of Art and Design
• 1997 Clocktower Project at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
• 2000 Sonic Boom: The Art of Sound at Hayward Gallery, London
• 2001 Visual Sound at Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh
• 2005 Her noise at South London Gallery
• 2006 Uncovering Birmingham at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
• 2006 Invisible Geographies: New Sound Art from Germany at The Kitchen, New York
• 2007 Electrical walks at Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music
• 2008 Aleph-Bet sound project at Jewish Museum, San Francisco
• 2019 Voices of memory at Dublin City Public Art Programme
• 2024 Waves, Walks and Wilderness at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe

Selected Music Recordings

Kubisch has released many recordings of her sound art and music. Here are some of them:

• "Two and Two" LP, with Fabrizio Plessi, 1976
• "Tempo Liquido" LP, with Fabrizio Plessi, 1979
• "Mag Magazin 6" MC, with Fabrizio Plessi, 1980
• "On Air" MC, 1984
• "Iter Magneticum" MC, 1986
• "Night Flights" LP, 1987
• "Sechs Spiegel" CD, 1995
• "Dreaming Of A Major Third (A Composition For The Clocktower Of Mass MoCA)" CD, 1998
• "Vier Stücke [Four Pieces]" CD, 2000
• "Le Jardin Magnétique" CD-R, 2001
• "Diapason" CD, 2002
• "Twelve Signals" CD, 2004
• "Armonica" CD, 2005
• "Licht Himmel" CD, 2006
• "E-legend" CD, 2006
• "Five Electrical Walks" CD, 2007
• "Minimal Disinformation" Lathe Cut 7", 2007
• "La Ville Magnétique / The Magnetic City" CD, 2008
• "Magnetic Flights" CD, 2011
• "Mono Fluido" CD, 2011
• "Dichte Wolken" CD, 2012
• "Mosaïque Mosaic" CD, with Eckehard Güther, 2013
• "Schall und Klang" CD, 2019

Other Important Works

• Emergency Solos (a composition for solo flute)
• Il Respiro Del Mare, 1981
• Conference of Trees, 1988-1989
• Sechs Spiegel, 1994
• The Clocktower Project
• Dinner Music

Awards and Recognition

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

• German Industrial Association award (1988)
• Residency grant, Barkenhoff, Worpswede (1988)
• Kunstfonds e.V., Bonn project grant (1990)
• Studio grant from the Senator (1994)
• Composition grant of the city of Berlin (2000)
• Honorary German Sound Art award (2008)
• Ars Electronica Honorary Mention Digital music (2008)
• Saarländischer Rundfunk Media Art award (2009)
• Beethoven Foundation for Arts and Culture grant (2013)
• Giga-Hertz Award for Electronic Music (2021)

Artist Residencies

Kubisch has also been invited to work and live in different art centers around the world. These "residencies" allow artists to focus on their projects. Some places she has been include:

• Banff Centre for the Arts, (Canada)
• Djerassi Resident Artist Program (California, US)
• IASPIS (Stockholm, Sweden)
• DIVA, Danish International Visiting Artists program (Copenhagen)
• Art centre Doual'art (Doualla, Cameroun)

See also

• Pensa, Iolanda (Ed.) 2017. Public Art in Africa. Art et transformations urbaines à Douala /// Art and Urban Transformations in Douala. Genève: Metis Presses. ISBN: 978-2-94-0563-16-6