The Creators Project: Nice place you have here, it looks like an inventor’s lab. Is that how you see yourself, as an inventor? Or as an artist?Julius Von Bismarck: I studied design and visual communication at the University of Fine Arts, in Berlin, which was also really technological. But even before that I was fascinated by both science and art. During school I had physics class and arts class during my A-Levels and couldn’t really decide which way I wanted to go. So I found a really good place where I can follow both.Why did you choose art and technology instead of visual communication?Even when I was involved with visual communication, I was fascinated by art and technology. So I did graphic design as wel, but I looked for new challenges and I finally found my niche in art.Let’s talk about your niche. You’re most famous for inventing the Fulgurator.Yes. I have built many of versions of it. But this is the best one because it looks the most inconspicuous, like a camera. The first version looked like a gun. It is based on the way a camera works, but instead of making pictures it projects photos -- frozen moments thrust back into the world for split second. The joke about this work is that I can manipulate photos of others with this machine. I point this thing at an object and when someone is taking a picture of this object it will be manipulated without them knowing it. I can smuggle information into press photos, tourist photos, and so on. I’ve travelled the world with it trying to transmit visual messages.Can you give us an example?The first trial I did was when Obama had his speech in Berlin at the Siegessäule. I heard that he was coming and I thought, “perfect.” So I was on the lookout for content I could manipulate -- something that could be embedded in the picture.Aren’t you afraid that this technique could be misused?Sure. I have had plenty of sleepless nights. At the end I can’t prevent it even if I have the patent on it. I get offers from different advertising companies that offer me a lot of money for it, but my intention is for it to present the opposite perspective.How does the inside work?The camera is nearly completely normal but with a few changes. I just changed the backside. There is now a little mirror, which I engraved with a laser. On the back there is a flash and the thing that looks like a flash is just fake to distract other photographers. It also hides all the electronics that are necessary for this machine. In fact, the apparatus is not high tech; it could have been constructed 50 years ago. It works with analog as well as digital cameras. This version looks like a press camera so I can sneak it into press conferences.The time it takes for technology to become obsolete is perpetually increasing. How does that affect your artistic development? The amount of stuff I can use will get bigger and bigger. In the future, I will combine old equipment with new stuff and try to reflect upon the push and pull between the two. I think every piece of technology that is being developed has to be questioned. Every invention is sort of a political statement. If I construct a machine that is able to change the world, then as the inventor I have to be able to support that change.
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