Documentation of chromatic fusion (2024), an interactive projection mapping by Jonas Denzel. Hands transform the façade of the cathedral into different kind of shapes and colors by knocking, rubbing, and clapping onto the building. They also create different sound shapes which will finally compose a rousing beat. Gestures encourage the audience to clap along to the beat and thus become part of the rhythm. The idea of call and response within projection mapping is unique. The cathedral of Pécs itself becomes an instrument.

The work chromatic fusion won the renowned Audience Award at Zsolnay Light Festival.

Credits chromatic fusion:
Idea, Animation & Creative Direction: Jonas Denzel
Sound: Sören Schaudel

Credit documentation:
Drone shots: Zsolnay Light Festival
Editing & Documentation: Jonas Denzel

Screening: 4. – 7. Juli 2024, Pécs, Hungary

Conceptual art for the interior of the new Motel One Karlsruhe.
The thematic focus is “Karlsruhe - City of Law”.

Fundamental rights interact with us on a daily basis and determine our social life. Without them, a democratic society with humanistic values would not be possible. The installation “Dancing Rights” (2024) processes all 19 fundamental rights in a playful way. The paragraphs are detached from their conventional environment and typographically staged in a new context using a digital algorythm. The result is an alienation that allows a new focus on the essential rights - a typographic dance in black and white between right and injustice.

“ravensbeat" (2023), a light and sound projection by Jonas Denzel, Sound Sören Schaudel at the historic Obertor. It was projected on August 18, 2023, as part of the anniversary Museumsviertel Ravensburg: 10 years Kunstmuseum Ravensburg, Museum Ravensburger Museum Humpis-Quartier and Wirtschaftsmuseum.
The projection is based on the architecture of the Obertor on both the visual and sound levels. The sound was recorded exclusively on the Obertor itself by knocking, clapping and wiping on the facade. It engages with the audience by inviting them to clap along to the rhythm within a call and response.

The work won the renowned Award “Best Production/Sound” from Video Mapping Festival Lille, France

Curated by the Kunstmuseum Ravensburg and made possible by: LBBW Foundation, Kreissparkasse Ravensburg, Epson and guselux GmbH.

Jonas Denzel’s piece “explore” features a barrage of hands discovering the architecture of theMART’s façade. Inspired by drums, Denzel’s work is often interactive and rhythmically adept, created in reference to the surrounding environment – not just visually but also in terms of sounds. For his Art on theMART commission, hands will knock, rub, clap, and perform a rhythm-choreography across one of Chicago’s most iconic buildings, encouraging members of the public to join in. All sounds were recorded at theMART building and composed to a arousing beat by Sören Schaudel.
The work transforms the building itself into a towering musical instrument.
Shown June – September 2022, Chicago (US)

Watch out! The dancers of the Staatsballett Karlsruhe swarm out and turn the city into a stage. Dancers of the ballet company of the Badisches Staatstheater appear to be balancing taller than life size on window frames, climbing a church tower or filling a grey building with colourful choreography. From 28 April to 26 May 2022, the projections could be experienced every Thursday at various locations in Karlsruhe.
Ballet of the City was funded as part of the UNESCO City of Media Arts Karlsruhe 2021 project funding programme.
Photos by Arno Kohlem (Staatstheater Karlsruhe)

schwarzARTtor is an interactive projection mapping that directly involves the audience. It enlightens the architecture which was built around 1500. The sound was actually played and recorded on the building and afterwards composed to a rousing beat.
The projection was shown on the iconic Schwarzes Tor as part of 50 Years of Forum Kunst Rottweil.

Idea and realization: Jonas Denzel
Sound: Sören Schaudel

Video documentation: Hak Design Studio
Commissioned by: Forum Kunst Rottweil

There ist also a printed documentation available. Please order here

Each of us has one: an (ecological) footprint.How can we succeed in reducing our ecological footprint to ensure a sustainable future?

footprint is an interactive installation that depicts a digital reflection of feet. A camera captures the feet of visitors live. This image is abstracted, mirrored and alienated. In the process, a simple image becomes a complex duplication. This is created by multiple mirroring of the live recording, whereby the daylight influences the form and color of the installation. The result varies depending on the position and movement of the individual.

footprint was developed especially for art KARLSRUHE 2022 and was created with the kind support of the Bechtle GmbH Karlsruhe.

Shown at Media Art is here (2022) on the occasion of the plenary assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe. With the generous support of the Werner Stober Foundation.

beatlights – Projection Mapping, Winner of iMapp 2021

beatlights is an interactive projection mapping. Hands transform the Palace of the Parliament façade into different kind of shapes and colors by knocking, rubbing, and clapping onto the building. They also create different sound shapes which will finally compose a rousing beat. Gestures encourage the audience to clap along to the beat and thus become part of the rhythm. The Palace of the Parliament of Bucharest itself becomes an instrument.

It was screened and awarded as “Winner” work at iMapp 2021

Creative Direction: Jonas Denzel
Sound: Sören Schaudel

beatbox is an immersive, interactive projection. Hands knock, rub and clap on the facades and transform the KunstKraftwerk Leipzig into a body of light and sound. They also create different sound shapes which will finally compose a rousing beat. Gestures invite the audience to respond to the beat and thus become part of the rhythm. The Maschinenhalle itself becomes a percussion instrument.

Creative Direction: Jonas Denzel
Sound: Sören Schaudel

Screened at KunstKraftwerk Leipzig Brightfestival 2021

Trees that look at you. Trees that wink at you. Trees that scan the environment. Trees that observe. In the work "blickpunkt" nature enters into a dialogue with humans.

exhibited at Zauberwald Lenzerheide (Switzerland) 10.12–30.12.2021

The installation "ZEITENWENDE" was screened on the historic facade of the Alte Milchhäusle in Karlsruhe Neureut in December 2021 and refers to the current function of the building as an exhibition space for contemporary art. The Projection artistically illustrates the current turn of time with its ever faster transformations and upheavals with digital technology. It was projected with the beambike.
The projection was created as part of the project ZEITENWENDE by KunstRaum Neureut e. V., which is funded by Stiftung Kunstfonds e. V. and Neustart Kultur.

Light installation by Jonas Denzel with sound by Sören Schaudel.

Rodgers' wonderfully catchy melodies and Hammerstein's lyrics bursting with wit and poetry are combined in this revue to create a unique musical fireworks display. On Broadway, the artful arrangement with the hits from THE KING AND I, CAROUSEL, OKLAHOMA!, SOUTH PACIFIC, CINDERELLA and THE SOUND OF MUSIC had its successful premiere - Ettlingen is now experiencing its German premiere.

My part was the creative direction and production of the Video Projections for a Grand Night For Singing. The idea for the visual realization is based on paintings, frescoes and elements from the interior of the Ettlingen castle.

Musical Direction: Jeff Frohner
Director: Solvejg Bauer
Choreography: Hakan T. Aslan
Costume Design: Laura Yoro | Christian Held

beambike - mobile, spontaneous and flexible urban projections. beambike is an art project in public space. With a self customized cargobike urban spots like bridges, pillars, statues, underpasses and parks etc. are artistically staged with light installations
@beam.bike

beambike was funded as part of the UNESCO City of Media Arts Karlsruhe 2020 project funding programme

Exhibited at:
»ART Karlsruhe« 2022
»Seasons of Media Arts« ZKM Karlsruhe 2021

Commissioned beambike projects for:
Stallwächter-Party, Berlin (2023)
Brauerei Moninger Karlsruhe (2023)
City of Karlsruhe/Timisoara (2023)
City of Worms (2023)
RaumFabrik Durlach (2022)
BBBank Karlsruhe (2021)
GoodSpaces Baden-Baden (2021)
Koki Freiburg (2021)

The new Bauhaus Museum is built up and deconstructed using visualized rhythms. "The Shape of Sound" is an interactive projection that concentrates on hands, gestures and sounds. Hands explore the facade and begin to create sounds and rhythms. The building is transformed into a body of light and sound. The audience is animated by inviting gestures to become part of the projection. The sounds themselves come directly from the Bauhaus Museum façade.
The shape of Sound was the winning concept from nearly 100 submission for the light art festival Genius Loci.

Sound by Sören Schaudel

Photos: Henry Sowinski

Documentation about Genius Loci Weimar (The Shape of Sound at 5:05 min):

Karlsruhe media artist and filmmaker Jonas Denzel transforms the castle into a body of sound. He develops his show »hands-on« for the SCHLOSSLICHTSPIELE: The hands were man's first tools. They knock, rub and clap on the castle facade until they finally encourage the audience to clap along and thus become part of the rousing rhythm through inviting gestures. The sound is created and visualized exclusively by elements of the castle such as windows, rain gutters and walls as well as body percussion. The castle itself even becomes an instrument, a piano played by hands. The sounds that can be heard were recorded at the castle: Jonas Denzel made the rain gutters, windows and walls sound.

hands-on awarded for public favourite at Schlosslichtspiele 2018

"Auszeichnung" from ADC - Art Directors Club Germany

Thanks to the ZKM Videostudio for providing me with some of their video footage.

Photos 1–4: ARTIS-Uli Deck

When will machines fully replace the human workforce? eight hours is a documentary that examines a single day of production inside a dry cleaning factory. The film investigates the interaction between humans and machines, where the worker's experience of simple repetitive labor is mirrored by the mechanical work of the factory robots. We explore an overlooked location full of colors, mechanical sounds, humans and machines.

Jury comment on winning "Short in Work" in Modena 2017:
For the capability to use the features of observational documentary. For the ability to turn the everyday gestures of a laundry into a sort of mechanical choreography. To have fostered our methodological reflection.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:
"Winner" Short on Work Film Contest,
Modena (ITA), 2017
"Best Graduate Film" Diamond Screen Film Festival, Philadelphia (USA), 2017
"Official Selection" Lux et Lex Student Film Festival, Lancaster (USA)

SCREENINGS:
Modena Smart Life, Modena, Italy (EU), 24th of September 2020
Stadtleuchten, Karlsruhe, Germany (EU), 24th August–13th September 2020
HafenKunstKino, Düsseldorf, Germany (EU), 17th of October 2018
Enessimo Film Festival, Bologna, Italy (EU), 12th of April 2018
Short on Work Film Contest, Modena, Itlay (EU), 15th of December 2017
Diamond Screen Film Festival, Philadelphia (US), 1st of May 2017
Everything Must Go (Exhibition), Philadelphia (US), 25th of April 2017
Lux et Lex Film Festival, Lancaster (US), 22nd of April 2017
Temple Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia (US), 19th of April 2017
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (US), 4th of March 2017

Photos 1 – 3 Hafenkunstkino Düsseldorf 2018: Hajo Rappe