Virtual Madonna of Wagrain 2006/2007

Marianne Ewaldt - Daniel Zimmermann

Location. The castle hill plateau, Wagrain, permanent installation

Idea for the art projekt:
To manifest the apparition of the Madonna of Wagrain in virtual form

In spring 2006I was invited by the cultural manager of the village, Elisabeth Kornhofer, M.A.,to create an art objekt for the aera mentioned above –with a connection to the village and its inhabitants.
I came across the idea in the chronicle of Wagrain. For 338 years (1592-1930) Wagrain had a coat of arms picturing a Madonna with Child. In 1930 this emblem was replaced with the now existing one (the tower of the former castle).
As I looked for an artistic-technical realisation of my idea, I came across Daniel Zimmermann, a multimedia artiat from Basel. He photographed the location and our Madonna- modell with Child in his special 3-dimensional way to then make them visible through a viewer. The viewer was installed at the exact spot where the location photos were taken. To the curious visitor, looking through the viewer, the Madonna of Wagrain appears in the natural setting.
For me the Madonna image represents the female aspect of creation. Madonnas appeared in ancient cultures by various names and were the guardians of the holy places and healing springs. To this day they symbolize Mother Earth and qualities like wisdom, compassion, and love.

To enlarge the pictures, click them please.