GUEST

Simon Denny, MNZM (b. 1982 Auckland) lives and works in Berlin. He makes artworks that unpack stories about technology using painting, web-based media, installation, sculpture, print and video. He serves as a Professor of Time-Based Media since 2018 at The Hochschule für bildende Künste (HFBK), Hamburg and co-founded the artist mentoring program BPA//Berlin Program for Artists in 2016.

HOST

Severin Matusek is a writer and founder of co—matter, a research and strategy studio exploring the cultural and societal impact of new technologies.

IDEAS AND PEOPLE IN CONTEXT

Forces of the Unknown, Simon Denny exhibition, JW Marriott Hotel, Berlin https://simondenny.net/press/forces-of-the-unknown-simon-denny-on-the-militarized-imagination-and-power-of-plotter-paintings/

Netscape, first major commercial web browser (early 1990s) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape_Navigator

"Software Will Eat the World", Marc Andreessen (2011) https://a16z.com/why-software-is-eating-the-world/

"The Techno Optimist Manifesto", Marc Andreessen (2023) https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/

First Futurist Manifesto, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1909) https://archive.org/details/FuturistManifesto

"Silicon Valley's Entering Its Hard Tech Era", New York Times (July 2025) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/technology/ai-silicon-valley-hard-tech.html

"The Technological Republic", Alex Karp book https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Technological-Republic-Power-Belief-Future/dp/0593798694

The Founder's Paradox, Simon Denny exhibition, Michael Lett Gallery, Auckland (2017) https://simondenny.net/the-founders-paradox-cleveland/

Security Through Obscurity, Simon Denny exhibition, Altman Siegel, San Francisco (2020) https://simondenny.net/security-through-obscurity/

Extractor, Simon Denny board game / catalogue https://simondenny.net/extractor-publication/

DLD (Digital Life Design), tech conference, Munich https://www.dld-conference.com/

"What is Post AI Art", Art Review (November 2025) https://artreview.com/what-is-post-ai-art-avery-singer-simon-denny-holly-herndon-mat-dryhurst-jon-rafman/

CREDITS

The Vienna Business Agency supports new companies, projects and products that develop Vienna's creative industries further. Find out more at viennabusinessagency.at. Editorial & Production Team (in alphabetical order): Carina Dala, Severin Matusek, Elisabeth Noever-Ginthör, Alice Smith, Heinz Wolf

Theme Music by Hell Mutang.