Peter Weibel - Vertreibung der Vernunft
Restoration of the 1993 Venice Biennale installation by ZKM founding director.
Role: Technical reconstruction
About the Project
Vertreibung der Vernunft (Expulsion of Reason) is a computer-based video installation by Peter Weibel, the founding artistic director of ZKM, originally created for the 1993 Venice Biennale. The work presents a database of biographies of Austrian forced emigrants and victims of the Nazi regime from the cultural sphere.
Restoration
The technical reconstruction was a complete rebuild. The original database structure and display logic now run on modern hardware, and the visual appearance and interaction model of the original 1993 installation are preserved.
Significance
As a work by ZKM’s founding artistic director, this installation holds special significance in the institution’s history. The historical content, which documents the expulsion and persecution of Austrian cultural figures, gives the work lasting relevance beyond its technical and artistic dimensions.