Time: Monday - Thursday, 09:00 - 18:00 o'clock / Friday, 09:00 - 12:00 o'clock
CW 51: 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 December 2026
Interested students of other study programmes can register from 15 June - 26 June 2026 by email to: studium.dfa@zhdk.ch. You will be informed until the end of calendar week 28 about a possible participation.
Universität / Haute École
for student applications
What does it mean to encrypt? In this module, we look at works of art that encode and inscribe information. We will consider religious and contemporary artistic practices that construct crypts: rituals and structures that shield bodies and objects across time.
Rather than decoding the hidden meaning of artworks, we will approach encryption itself as an artistic gesture. We will also consider the technical history of encryption, from early cryptographic devices to contemporary algorithmic encryption, and examine how these technologies obscure information.
The module combines seminar-style readings with a workshop component in which we experiment with acts of encoding and encrypting.
About the lecturer:
Arif Kornweitz is an artist, a researcher and a PhD candidate in Art Research and Media Philosophy at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design. Until 2025, Arif served as the head of a Master’s program at Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam, focusing on fine arts practices that engage with music and AI. Arif is also the co-founder of Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee, a curatorial platform for visual art, critical music, and sound. Additionally, Arif initiates the music label UUUSE.
Course language: English
Learning objectives:
Students are able to,
- learn about artistic practices that integrate strategies of encryption;
- learn to situate these practices in a wider discourse of art history;
- develop a concept for their own cryptographic mechanisms and strategies.