ABSTRACT
Even a self-proclaimed unbound artform such as free jazz is restricted by a cultural and musical context, which prohibits, for example, that a performance appears to follow a blueprint or otherwise seem predictable. And while improvisation is almost always approached as a performance art, the category of the “performative” has also been rethought and decoupled from the requirement of the physical presence of an audience. Installation art requires extensive planning and demands great technical and engineering knowledge. It involves blueprints (architectural and for circuit boards), coordination with suppliers and manufacturers from around the world, and takes weeks, months, sometimes even years to build. In its architectural rigidity, installation art is bound to appear anything but fleeting. The phenomenology of Redl’s installations, that is, the specific way in which they engage the observer in their presence, is further defined by their nature as abstract art.
