Meet MAI Faculty Martina Menegon and Stefano D'Alessio

Master in Advanced Interaction Faculty Martina Menegon and Stefano D’Alessio are two Italian artists, graduated in Visual and Performing Arts at the IUAV University of Venice, and in Transmedial Art at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, directed by Brigitte Kowanz.

Since 2010 they collaborate with the artist Klaus Obermaier, IAAC Master in Advanced Interaction Co-director, as programmers and teaching assistants at IUAV University, where they teach the use of maxMSP/Jitter software and its applications in the artistic and performative field.

For years they have set up interactive installations and performances that investigate the relationship between the biological body and its digital transposition. Their artistic interest relates to body digitisation, distortion of the senses and interaction between body and technology.

Our creative process is extremely influenced by the interfaces we use, so much that sometimes how we do something is even more important that what we want to do,” says Stefano “Thinking about interaction is reflecting upon how things happen, through which actions and through which interfaces, which are the mechanisms that bring to a certain result.

Today is a crucial moment where hardware and software technologies quickly jumped ahead, specially in the field of interaction.” follows Martina “Our machines understands us better and we can easily communicate with them, but these technologies are still often used for lucrative purposes; that there are not many people yet using, abusing or misusing them with an “out of the box” state of mind.

Martina and Stefano performed and exhibited at the Media-Scape Time Based Biennale 2012 in Zagreb (HR), at the Fullframe Festival 2012 in Vienna (AT), at the Asolo Contemporanea 2013 in Asolo (IT), at the Mumok during the OPEN performance festival 2014 in Vienna (AT), at the Generate! 2015 in Tübingen (DE), in at the White Box in Munich (DE), at the DARK 2017 in Arnsberg (DE) and in some off-premises in Vienna.