Biography
Marcus Maeder is an artist, researcher and composer of electronic music. Maeder studied Fine Arts at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Philosophy at the Fernuniversität in Hagen and completed his PhD in Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zürich. Maeder has worked as an editor and producer for the Swiss radio station SRF and has been working as a researcher at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology (ICST) of the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK since 2005. He is visiting scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Landscape and Snow Research WSL and Humboldt Research Fellow at the Institute for Biology at Freie Universität Berlin.
In his research, Maeder is working on ecoacoustic investigations of areas, communities and organisms under the influence of climate change and other environmental issues. He contextualises his artistic and scientific work in the fields of Acoustic and Soundscape Ecology, as well as Artistic Research.
On an invitation by French President François Hollande, Maeder presented his sound art installation trees: Pinus sylvestris at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference COP21.
In 2017 Maeder presented his installation AmazonFACE: Ocotea at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington – the same year where he and Roman Zweifel received an honorable mention from the STARTS Prize by the European Commission at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz/Austria for their works under the moniker treelab.
In 2021, Marcus Maeder presented his Installation Silva (commissioned by the Goethe Institute Tallinn and in cooperation with Roman Zweifel) at the Estonian National Museum; Estonia’s President Alar Karis visited the exhibition and gave the opening speech.
In 2023, Maeder presented his installation Growth model on invitation of the Swiss embassy at the Tokyo Biennal at the University of Creativity in Tokyo. The installation was visited by the state secretary for science and education Martina Hirayama and the president of ETH Michael Hengartner.
Publication
Rillig MC, Gould KA, Maeder M, Kim SW, Dueñas JF, Pinek L, Lehmann A, Bielcik M. Opportunities and Risks of the “Metaverse” For Biodiversity and the Environment. Environmental Science & Technology. 2022 Apr 5;56(8):4721-3.
Zweifel, R., Etzold, S., Braun, S., Buchmann, N., Kamen, A., Bischoff, R., Fonti, M., Conedera, M., Haeni, M., Hoch, G., Knüsel, S., Wilhelm, M., Schaub, M., Maeder, M., Gessler, A., Köchli, R., De Girardi, N., Basker, D., Peters, R., Walthert, L., Eugster, W. (2021) TreeNet – The biological drought and growth indicator network. To be submitted to Frontiers in Science Journal.
Maeder, M., Guo, X., Beff, F., Gossner, M., Mathys Schneider D. (2021) Temporal and spatial dynamics in soil acoustics and their relation to soil animal diversity. Submitted to PLOS One.
Maeder, M., Gossner, M. M., Keller, A., & Neukom, M. (2019). Sounding Soil: An Acoustic, Ecological and Artistic Investigation of Soil Life. Soundscape Journal, World Forum for Acoustic Ecology WFAE.
Maeder, M. (Ed.) 2017. „Kunst Wissenschaft Natur. Zur Ästhetik und Epistemologie der künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Naturbeobachtung, Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
Maeder, M. 2016. „trees: Pinus sylvestris“. Journal for Artistic Research JAR, edition 11, www.jar-online.net
Maeder, M. Zweifel, R. 2016. „trees: An artistic-scientific observation system“, proceedings SMC/SMAC Conference 2016, Hamburg, Germany
Maeder, M. 2014. „Ambient culture: Coping musically with the environment“, proceedings ICMC/SMC Conference, Athens, 2014
Maeder, M. 2014. „Der Klang der Bäume“, in: Christoph Flamm: Baum/Mensch/Klang/Kunst, Ritter Verlag, 2014
Maeder, M. and Zweifel, R. 2013. Downy Oak: Rendering Ecophysiological Processes In Plants Audible. Proceedings SMC/SMAC 2013, Stockholm, Sweden.
Maeder, M., Schacher, J. 2011. „The left Hand path“, in: Connect. Kunst zwischen Medien und Wirklichkeit, Nürnberg: Verlag für moderne Kunst, 2011
Maeder, M. 2010. „Elektronische Musik, Kunst, Pop- und Subkultur – in der Schweiz und anderswo“. In: Bruno Spoerri: Musik aus dem Nichts – Elektronische Musik in der Schweiz. Zürich: Chronos Verlag, 2010
Maeder, M. (Ed.) 2010. Milieux Sonores - Klangliche Milieus. Klang, Raum und Virtualität. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag
Maeder, M. 2008. „Milieux Sonores“, Zett 4/08
Maeder, M. 2007. „Immersion im Möglichen“, in: Soundscapes/Hörlandschaften, Stadt Zürich
Maeder, M. and Schacher, J. 2004. „Transient Travels“, in: Trans_It, World New Music Days