Michael Hieslmair

Exit - Stop and Go

The Inntal Valley is marked by a network of global human traffic and commercial transport. Innsbruck, situated at one of the most important Alpine crossings, is a central hub and intersection for transnational movement. Due to the valley’s unique topographical setting, the traffic infrastructure has a profound impact on both the social spatial structure of the Inntal Valley and its appearance.

The Exit—Stop and Go project sought to translate the influence of transnational, tourist and migrant experiences—from the daily movement of commuters to everyday rush hour traffic—into a diagram of routes visualizing the increasing importance of terminals as network nodes for the everyday inhabitants. The primary focus was on the influential power of globalized passenger and commercial traffic in the locals’ day-to-day lives. At the center was the comparative artistic investigation of the social and economic developments in at least three terminal typologies in the greater Innsbruck region: a cable car station, a highway rest area, the airport. Present social and economic transformation processes in relation to city space were made evident from the structural and typological differences among the terminals. Transnational relations form in connection with mobility, migration and competition over location. A balance among research, production and presentation was pursued using an integrative production process. The connection of art-specific methods, possible questions and formats with methods borrowed from other disciplines formed the basis for the accumulation of knowledge.
(Text source: Michael Hieslmair)

In the course of his fellowship, Michael Hieslmair was given a lectureship at the Department of Architecture Theory at the University of Innsbruck for the summer semester 2009.

In 2009, Michael Hieslmair was awarded the Stipend of the City of Innsbruck at Künstlerhaus Büchsenhausen.