Oliver Grau

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Most Recent Affiliation(s):


  • Humboldt University Berlin and Danube Univeristy, Image Science, _Professor and Author

ISEA Bio(s) Available:


  • ISEA2023

    Oliver Grau (born 1965) is a German art historian and media theoretician with a focus on image science, modernity and media art as well as culture of the 19th century and Italian art of the Renaissance. Main Areas of Research are: Digital Art, Media Art History, immersion, digital humanities, documentation and conservation strategies of born-digital media art. He is founding director of the Archive for Digital Art (1998) and director of the Society for MediaArtHistories and its biennial conference series (since 2004). His monograph “Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion” (MIT Press 2004) is among the most cited works in recent art history, with over 2600 citations, and with translations of his texts in 15 languages to date and over 300 invited lectures in 44 countries, he is one of the most internationally renowned contemporary art and media scholars.

    ISEA2022

    Oliver Grau (DE) is first Chair Professor for Image Science in the German-speaking countries at the Danube University since 2005 and has held more than 350 lectures and keynotes. Grau’s “Virtual Art,” (2003) is the most quoted art history monograph since 2000. He conceived scientific tools for digital humanities like the Archive for Digital Art (ADA, since 1999) and developed international MA programs like Image Science and the joint master in MediaArtsCultures. Grau was founding director of the MediaArtHistories Conferences. He has received several awards for books including Mediale Emotionen (2005), Imagery in the 21st Century (2011), recently: Digital Art through the Looking Glass (2020). 2014 he received a doctor h.c., 2015 he was elected into the Academia Europaea.

    ISEA2020

    Danube University, Krems, Austria.

    ISEA 2011

    Oliver Grau(born 1965) is a German art historian and media theoretician with a focus on image science, modernity and media art as well as culture of the 19th century and Italian art of the Renaissance. Grau lectured in numerous parts of the world, received various awards and is widely published (12 languages). Recent works include Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (MIT-Press 2003), Mediale Emotionen (Fischer, 2005), MediaArtHistories (MIT-Press 2007) and Imagery of the 21st Century (MIT-Press 2011).

    Currently Grau is Chair Professor at the Department for Image Science which develops lifelong learning programs in MediaArtHistories, Image Science, Crossmedia, Exhibit Design, Digital Collection Management. He was head of the German Science Foundation project Immersive Art, whose team since 1999 developed the first international Database of Digital Art: virtualart.at now based at Danube University. Grau directs as well the development of the Database of the Graphic Collection Goettweig, Austrias largest private graphic collection, which contains 30.000 masterprints from Duerer to Klimt: gssg.at. 

    Grau is an advisory board member of numerous international journals (e.g. zB. IMAGES, Journal for Visual Studies, International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, IJArt Journal, International Journal of Art and Technology, Second Nature, Ekfrase) and was elected as member of the Academy of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences. Oliver Grau was chair of Refresh! First International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science, and Technology, Banff 2005.

Last Known Location:


  • Berlin, Germany

Previous Location(s):


  • Krems, AT

International Programme Committee:

Presentations:


Role(s) at the symposia over the years: