DISCUSSION:
Crude oil is one of the most important fossil resources of modern times. To guarantee a sensible
transition to sustainable energy sources, it is crucial to comprehend the extent to which this
omnipresent substance has shaped our modern culture. Artist Ernst Logar’s interdisciplinary project
Reflection Oil: Arts-Based Research on Oil Transitionings at the University of Applied Arts deals with this
subject matter and provides an innovative and multi-perspective analysis of the raw material that is
petroleum.

The project’s artistic research into this omnipresent material and natural resource is conducted in
collaboration with the University of Leoben’s Department of Petroleum Engineering (DPE). Working
together on artistic petroleum experiments is a non-hierarchical process which combines different
approaches and ways of thinking to enable productive engagement. The interdisciplinary nature of this
collaborative process, which includes the DPE team as well as a number of expert guests, is inspiring and
offers new ways of seeing our energy culture.

The objective is to bring about a change in public perception and create new visions of a future without
oil by means of a collective process of reflection and experiments as well as through individually
developed artistic works that address the global petroleum culture. As part of the event, the Reflecting Oil
project, its goals and interdisciplinary experiences will be presented. Additionally, the discussion will also
focus on opportunities and issues of the art-science nexus.

Presentation by Ernst Logar (Artist and Cultural Worker)

and a discussion with Holger Ott (Reservoir Engineer, Head of the Department Petroleum Engineering
at Montanuniversität Leoben) and Gerald Bast (Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna)

Moderation: Julia Grillmayr

17 Jan 2023, 19:00
AIL – Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab

https://ail.angewandte.at/program/reflecting-oil