INFERMENTAL 4, Lyon France 1985
I remember
We (the INFERMENTAL´s editors) are not art-historian, so to have some credibility, we have to use some precautionary measures when we talk about our experience… We have to be « modesty sincere », using, for example, some personal anecdotes, some « I remember ».
Doing INFERMENTAL for me was absolutly genial… My best friends are from the INFERMENTAL network. I completed (a lot) my tolerance-learning when I deed my INFERMENTAL number…
INFERMENTAL was not a sinecure, it was not so respectable to be media-artist (or to be friendly with…) at this time… Be an « INFERMENTAL-Editor » was not so easy.
First we needed the connection, the magic « key », a manner of « initiator ». For us, « le Frigo », Mike A. Hentz was the « guy ».
And a crew, a team, a location with a « alternative-fame » and technical possibility (kinda bureaucraty and some solution for editing the number: money and machines).
INFERMENTAL was for me a straight « direct democraty » with chic and « panache » !
Our personal supervizor (Astrid Heibach) was a garanty of our freedom : « Please, interest me !» was the slogan !
We were complety free with our choices and the « general-looking » but with some strong intuitive positive drive with the other numbers, a manner of « Cadavre Exquis ».
It was not only about media, more about information and exchange, « crossover » and « transgender ». The Wall was here, beetween us, something to break with reason…
INFERMENTAL was not a « ego-competition », not only but a verification of the « modernity-atmosphere » year by year… A sort of « imaginery Museum of the present time », an utopia of the 80’…
But with step back, and it was not premeditaded, INFERMENTAL is the only « complete and exotic video archive » from the 80’, the hinge beetween analogic and digital in the mass-medias!
What could be better than the list of the 10 numbers to show the diversity and the broadmindedness of INFERMENTAL!
Gerard Couty TXT Hamburg show INFERMENTAL, Kampnagel 1995
Archives in ZKM Karlsruhe
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON VIDEOCASSETTES
INFERMENTAL -1 9 8 1 – 1 9 9 1
INFERMENTAL I
WEST BERLIN 1982
Duration: 4 hours
INFERMENTAL II
HAMBURG 1982/1983
Duration: 6 hours
INFERMENTAL III
BUDAPEST 1983/1984
Duration: 6 hours
INFERMENTAL IV
LYON 1985
Duration: 7 hours
INFERMENTAL V
ROTTERDAM 1986
Duration: 5 hours
INFERMENTAL VI
VANCOUVER 1987
Duration: 5+1 hours
INFERMENTAL VII
BUFFALO 1988
Duration: 5 hours
INFERMENTAL VIII
TOKYO 1988
Duration: 5 hours
INFERMENTAL IX
WIEN 1989
Duration: 5 hours
INFERMENTAL X
OSNABRÜCK/SKOPJE 1991
Duration: 6 hours
INFERMENTAL SPECIAL ISSUE
NRW WUPPERTAL 1985
Duration: 4 hours