In 2016, ARD Text established their teletext residency series, beginning with Dan Farrimond in September and October of that year.
Inspired by the service’s ‘event of the day’ section, he selected headlines and anniversaries from ARD Text itself to translate to teletext, such as the Tomatina Festival and International Talk Like a Pirate Day. One cartoon depicted the milk crisis as a gigantic carton rampaging through the streets spewing milk.
Following this, ARD Text ran an Advent calendar with Farrimond throughout December 2016, with a new full-page artwork appearing on the service each day leading up to Christmas. Artworks depicted a summer snowman, a skiing penguin and a pixel skyline of Berlin. This project was also rebroadcast in December 2017.
The residency series returned in September 2018, this time featuring Steve Horsley. The Wonderful World of Horsenburger broadcast throughout September of that year, featuring new artworks from the former Teletext Ltd designer. At the end of the exhibition, viewers were able to vote for their favourite piece.
In June 2020, ARD Text collaborated with Raquel Meyers, who produced artwork to celebrate the service’s 40th birthday. Pieces centred on the symbolism of the remote control, the Berlin TV tower and a cyclops delivering the message:
“Teletext is not a physical object; it is the dark band dividing pictures horizontally on the television screen, used by the PAL system. Vertical-blanking-interval lines like REM (rapid eye movement). A door to unlock the imagination.”
Sources
- Colourful Images for Teletext, Johannes Nichelmann, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 30 August 2016
- An Abandoned Technology Gets Repurposed to Make Retro Art, Vice.com, 1 October 2016.
- Teletext artist turning news into art in Germany, BBC, 18 September 2016
- ARD Text Advent Calendar 2016, German national television, danfarrimond.co.uk, September 2016.
- ARD Text – Teletext art festival, horsenburger.com
- Teletextkunst von Raquel Meyers, ARD Text
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