A visual artist working with film, video and DVD today is moving along the breaks between a considerable media history of the past four decennia and the promises of recent technology. It seems that the forefathers have already occupied all terreins and laid all foundations; the next generation that is now setting the tone develops its themes with breath-taking complexity, and the inflationary dominance of flickering sequences in the current exhibition scene offers the young producers a diversified forum, but also uneasiness among the mass. At the same time, the possibilities of digital imaging are expanding enormously and constitute a strong tension between the technically possible, the commercially acceptable and the artistically expressable. Does this mean bad times for moving pictures beyond the life-style machinery?

As always, there lies some comfort in the intensity of the attitude with which an artist accepts or productively transforms the sketched challenges. It is remarkable that diametric counter-movements always branch from any existing mainstream and finally become the dominating trend themselves. Currently this seems to be a need for a slow-down, for deepness and concentration. Amidst the unstoppable acceleration in all aspects of our existence, the wish to comprehend stands in the way and ignores generally agreed-upon video-clip aesthetics, infotainment and consumptive affirmation. Rest, contemplation and consolidation: maybe not the most essential virtues in life, but indispensable for a multi-dimensional understanding of reality and traditionally a preferred field of artistic research.

In `Slow MotionA, guest curator Alexandra Kolossa has selected ten positions of contemporary video art that take these processes seriously and in large-scale projections condense them to moments of meditation. For the circumspect and knowledge in her commitment I owe her my gratitude, as well as to the artists involved, the collaboration of galeries and collectors. Without this dense and yet fragile network that also comprises the challenges of technical realization, graphical presentation and production of a CD ROM, no exibition project could ever be realized - yet, in the best case the audience won't be able to notice behind the demanding presence of the results. Finally, it should not stay unmentioned that the works by Grazia Toderi and Kjell Bjørgeengen are new acquisitions of the Ludwig Collection and should arrouse curiosity in view of the reorganized presentation of the collection in May 2003.

Harald Kunde - Director