Anyone who made it to a US Bon Iver show (or watched videos of it) before the pandemic began in fall 2019 has already experienced his art: light artists, lighting system developer and Design agency owner Christopher Bauder from Berlin designed the live installation with kinetic elements, light reflections and mirrors for the “i, i” tour. It could also be seen in Europe soon / finally: If Corona doesn’t thwart the plans again, Justin Vernon and his band will perform on October 31, 2022 in the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. If you want to be enlightened beforehand – beware, lame pun – you can do so in Berlin-Lichtenberg: In the permanent exhibition “Dark Matter” Bauder and his team present an impressive interplay of light and sound.
We talked to Bauder about his most famous project “Light Border” for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Berlin, about art and commerce, about his collaboration with Bon Iver, about music videos, about “ridiculous” EDM shows with David Guetta and about possible concert Touring with stars the size of Kanye West or Daft Punk in case of a comeback – “with people who understand the power of the visual”.
“Dark Matter” light artist Christopher Bauder: “I’m only limited by space and money”
Christopher, Corona has also lost significant sources of income for you…
Christopher Bauder: Fortunately, we earn money with everything we do. With light art, tours and our products. Corona has shifted the focus. There are no events. We don’t currently earn a cent with rentals. On the other hand, ticket sales for “Dark Matter” are going better at the moment. We can also show our art there.
Art is not primarily about money, but eventually it is. You studied at the University of the Arts. How do you create your first works as a young artist? Light installations probably cost a lot of money and above all you have to get investors involved?
digital art. Meta, 3D, real-time environments: everything I did and learned in college is hot right now. Back then we were caught up in the screen and the projection. I wanted to translate this art into real space. You’re right: It quickly becomes complicated, expensive and technically complex. So financing has always been one of my challenges. My first, still manageable installation “Tonleiter” is today, 23 years later, part of “Dark Matter”. The first kinetic installations became more expensive, for example the balloon installation ATOM, with which I toured the world together with Ableton Live founder Robert Henke, also known as Monolake. If it was well received at festivals, I reinvested the money. Again and again, so it grew slowly. I’ve never done anything for myself, I don’t come from a wealthy family.
One day there were advertising deals.
My art installations have always aroused interest in the industry. For example, Mercedes called. They wanted to advertise their new S-Class with a large kinetic installation using lasers. So I adapted an installation of mine for it – with immediate funding. There was never a strict separation between art and commerce for me. I only see such cooperations as another form of financing. The content can always be art. And I cross-finance new installations through commercial, industrial orders.
Rather untypical for art: So you have to think along with the audience at the beginning, not at the end.
no I was lucky that the art I wanted to make was also well received by the public. Today this is called experimental art or immersive art. People want to have an experience that we create there. I never think about how I have to design an installation beforehand so that people will like it. Of course, if I adapt it for adidas, I’m a service provider and adapt it to their needs. I don’t bend, only recognize their different background. For example, they want their product to look good, they want their customers to be entertained.
Your most famous work of art to date is the kilometer-long installation “Light Border” in 2014 along the Berlin Wall that fell 25 years earlier. Was that also your most important project so far?
Definitely. From the dimension, the public and the cooperation with the city and politics. I learned a lot about how cities work under the hood. And anyway: 8,000 elements over 15 kilometers have pushed me to the limits of what is possible. When I rode my bike there, it made a lasting impression on me.
You have toured the world with various installations. Will “Dark Matter” remain a Berlin thing?
No idea. It’s fun for us. Whether we turn it into a franchise that goes around the world is not so important to me. I like it when art is in one place and people have to come there to see and experience it. That it’s not available everywhere.
What does “permanent exhibition” mean in the art world? Two years and then we’ll see?
The location is ours. We will change the current exhibition over time. We have other installations, so we’ll always swap and grow, test products, do shows. Dark Matter is a living, organic thing that evolves. Our playground.
The plan also called for live events. So far, they have been completely canceled due to Corona, right?
Yes. In other exhibitions of mine there were always fixed components as well as an approximately one-hour live performance. This is not possible at the moment. For this effort we would have to fill the room completely. It’s impossible to finance this with 50 tickets sold.
The bane of all clubs these days and months.
On the one hand, we share the same fate. On the other hand, we don’t dance, which has the advantage that that’s the only reason we’re allowed to let people in at all. However, not everything that we imagined is possible. We have to keep our distances, install ventilation systems, check and comply with regulations, employ more staff to control…
… and like everyone else, you can’t plan safely to be able to go big again in the summer.
We plan from day to day, only ever selling tickets for the next two weeks because the rules keep changing. So that we don’t have to refund them. But I don’t want to complain, I’m glad that anything works at all. Our worldwide shows and tours have all been cancelled.
The music in “Dark Matter” was partly composed by you.
Actually just the ones in one room. I work with known and unknown composers. For example with Robert Henke. With Boris Acket from Amsterdam. With the people from the “Kling Klang Klong” studio.
How do you describe the sounds you hear?
It’s electronic music from ambient pads to techno-like beats. You could even dance at times.
So composing is not so important to you that you would want to record your own album?
Funny you mention it. I’m just starting to make music myself because I want to push the interlocking of sounds and visuals for a live show and the spatial positioning of sounds. I work three-dimensionally, and so can our sound system. I have a few ideas that I would have found difficult to explain to anyone else to compose in my spirit. I’ll try it out and get help if necessary, I’m not a trained musician. With today’s tools you can still get relatively far.
The first musician I heard from you about working with you was Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver. You designed his light show for the currently pausing tour. How did this co-op come about?
Bon Ivers lighting designer Michael Brown knew my work. We were already in contact about another band. He asked me if I would like to do this. I made special kinetic mirrors for the tour based on another idea of mine and we developed them together. He did the general lighting design and I did the show design for the kinetic parts.
Have you been to the USA more often for this or is something like this digital?
We pre-produced a lot. this is possible thanks to 3D visualization and software that we developed ourselves. Everything can be connected in advance, the show sequence can be visualized. The dress rehearsal took place in the USA.
Did you also have direct contact with Vernon?
At the briefing now and then. He’s a pretty cool artist because he has a lot of trust in his team and hands over that part of the responsibility a lot. Michael and he have known each other for a long time. We were free to act. The show has also become super awesome, I think.
If Corona allows it again, Vernon and you could also work together here in Berlin. He is connected to the city, among other things, through the Michelberger Music Festival.
I’m in constant contact with Michael Brown, we have ideas, but Corona keeps getting in the way!
Wouldn’t music videos be something for you too?
Actually already. But honestly, their budgets just aren’t right. I get tons of requests, also for “Dark Matter” as a backdrop, “it’s all there already!”. Just being background doesn’t interest me much. There must be a connection. People want to shoot relatively cheaply with us, but our installations are very complex. We made small exceptions, including a big DVD production for a Brazilian superstar who doesn’t know a pig here. However, the budgets are usually lacking. Especially since we specialize in live.
And there is a budget for that.
Yes. We get world tour requests from A-listers. Let’s see what happens there.
can you name
Nothing concrete enough yet. They don’t know if and when they can start their tours and go through with them. Showing my art live is important to me, and as equally as possible with the music. Of course, with a superstar, he is the star first. But even then, the light show is almost more important than the actual performer. Take these DJ sets: David Guetta played a New Year’s show in Abu Dhabi the other day. What was the need for that there? That was a gigantic, really awesome light show. I also know the people who made them. They weren’t even named. Instead, David Guetta stands there and jumps up and down. This is just ridiculous. It has to be more equal. Light, sound and music should be mentioned on an equal footing – and then the show runs without anyone pretending to do anything.
“My only limitation is space and money”
Are there any names you would like to work with?
I would love to do something with Yello. Daft Punk is no longer an option, at least for now. I think they’ll make a comeback at some point. These are people who understand the power of the visual. Kanye West is big in that direction right now. He’s also a fan of James Turrell, of light art in general. There are many artists that I think could be a good fit.
There should be a connection to West via Bon Iver…
As I said, there are inquiries. Unfortunately I can’t name any names. There are a few in the pipeline. Let’s see what happens. Superstars just have budgets and the size fits: They perform in stadiums or large arenas. We need space for an installation to work. If you shrink them down too small, the fascination won’t be there.
Sounds like there would be no shortage of orders, at least after Corona. Especially since your art is determined and changed by technology: Today you can realize different things than during your studies. And don’t know what will be feasible in ten years.
Right. Nowadays I no longer have the problem that I lack the technology to implement an idea. Everything is possible, the computer processor power is almost infinite. My only limitation is space and money. Nothing else limits me. Especially since we develop technology ourselves that doesn’t even exist yet.