Gerhard Dirmoser (A) has been systematically observing and analyzing Ars Electronica for 25 years, and has produced a thematic graphic representation of all perspectives, aspects and individuals that seem relevant to Ars Electronica.

The study 25 Years of Ars Electronica, presented at the 25th Anniversary of Ars Electronica Festival last year, consists of multiple poster works. In this exhibition the Memory Theatre is presented next to the Networks of People.

At its core the Memory Theatre seeks to condense roughly 9000 pages of material from the catalogs of Ars Electronica into central statements and key terms. The approximately 4800 blocks of text are ordered according to issues of content in the form of a memory theater. The study attempts to take into consideration the participating artists and theoreticians in a comprehensive form and to establish or maintain a reference to the source texts. Three phases of development were highlighted in colour in the arrangement of details. This makes it possible to trace the influence of the artistic director visually over the course of time. This depiction also clearly shows that even in this very “young” art form, there are a number of manifestations that do not yet indicate any canonized direction.
The left part of the study focuses on performative contributions. The discursive area (on the right) primarily shows issues that were treated in the framework of accompanying symposiums. Project names were purposely left out to allow more space for key statements of content.

The Network of People is illustrating that large-scale projects are generally strongly influenced by their organizers and/or participants. The interplay of important players is represented in an exemplary way in a network form. Among other aspects, a substantial communication structure developed from the worldwide network of jury members.