In 1976 I began studying graphic design at the 'Alsterdamm' art school in Hamburg (Gerhard F. Setzke). Since 1980 I worked as a free-lance graphic designer and printer in Hamburg. At the same time I took courses at the 'Freie Kunstschule' (free art school) in Hamburg (Günther Lierschoff). In 1982 I made efforts to enter the 'Hochschule für bildende Künste' (HfBK - academy of fine arts) in Hamburg. I was matriculated in the subject 'free art' in the first run in 1983 by presenting large-sized drawings. After one year of 'orientation' with Prof. Jochen Hiltmann, my interest in combining fine arts and music established. As a result I also took courses at the 'Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst' / Hamburg (academy of music and connected arts) - among others 'analysis' (Prof. Hermann Laue) and 'composition' (Prof. Alfred Karkoschka). But mainly I was working at the HfBK in the intermediate field of 'art' and 'visual communication' (Prof. Gerd Roscher, Prof. Rüdiger Neumann). Here I made numerous music videos within the meaning of 'video art' - with selfmade sound collages and musical compositions. At the annual exhibitions I made musical performances and video programmes with the assistant professor for 'video art' Ernst Mitzka. In 1986 I became scholar of the German/French university exchange commitee and for three months I took my multimedia studies (Prof. Sun Gui Kim) at the academy of arts in Marseille ('Luminy'). Since 1988 my place was the class of Prof. Claus Böhmler at he HfBK. I started working with 'sound objects'. In 1990 I passed the final examination at the HfBK (diploma) with first class honours - and therefore I had the possibility to add a further four semesters of studies. During this time I mainly had contact to Prof. Sigmar Polke and I attained matriculation at the university of Hamburg in the subject 'systematic musicology'. In 1991 I was awarded to a scholarship ('Arbeitsstipendium') of the 'Town of Hamburg'. In 1992 I was prize-winner of the 'Forum Junger Kunst' (forum of 'young' art), which resulted in a personal exhibition in the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden ('Spaces of Perception') (see CD of the exhibition: 'We Catch the Possible'). In 1993 I was scholar of the DAAD (German academic exchange commitee) and by the offices of Prof. Stephan von Huene of the 'Hochschule für Kunst und Technologie Karlsruhe' (academy of art and technology) I went to San Diego, California to Prof. Allen Kaprow ('Fluxus'/'Concept Art') and got into contact with the radio- and filmmaker, object and installation artist Paul McCarthy. Since 1991 I had mainly been busy in Central Europe with installations that specifically reacted on the locality (Het Apollohuis, Eindhoven; Galeria Wschodnia, Lodz (Poland); Udjadowsky Castle, Warsaw; Galerie Arsenal, Bialystock; Galerie Rostrum, Malmö (Sweden); Ernst Museum, Budapest (Hungaria). During the last years I could realize works at the Goethe-institutes in Krakow (Poland), New Delhi (India) and Toronto (Canada). My CD's are distributed in Tokio (Japan) and in Berlin ( Gelbe Musik ). Since 1992 I am assistant teacher at the Fachhochschule Lüneburg (specialized university) for the subject 'aesthetics and communication'. In 1998 the musicologist Prof. Dr. Helga de la Motte-Haber invited me to a one-year scholarship at the academy 'Schloss Solitude' near Stuttgart. Encouraged by her, I more often give lectures on my cycles of works 'Lights and Sounds' and locality-specific light and sound installations and composition processes - for example in Darmstadt in 1998 (spring courses for new music an musical pedagogics), in the KandS gallery in Berlin in 1999, in the Kunstverein (art society) Springhornhof, Neuenkirchen and the KX gallery in Hamburg (September 1999). At the end of 1999 I had an EMARE (European Media Artist Residency Exchange) scholarship of the Sorus Foundation and stayed at the C3 - centre for culture and communication in Budapest (Hungaria) - to realize Internet-specific works which can be seen at http://soundart.c3.hu/ Tilman Küntzel, Nov. 1999 Translated by Roy Eichenauer, Hamburg. Accessed 1.11.06 from http://soundart.c3.hu/pages/vita/vi6E.html