tangente digital art: “The Abbe Number” – Jenoptik high-rise becomes a glass cube
From October 17 to 31, 2025, the Ernst Abbe high-rise will virtually become an optical medium. The work by Berlin artist and studio ZEITGUISED is the center of Jenoptik’s new “tangente digital art”, which will be on display every evening in October on the half hour and hour.
The installation called “The Abbe Number” uses “forced perspective projection mapping” to transform the Ernst Abbe high-rise into a fragmented glass cube. The building is virtually transformed into an optical medium that breaks down the incident light into its spectral colors—a direct homage to Ernst Abbe’s fundamental research on dispersion, whose decisive magnitude is described by the “Abbe number”.
Dispersion refers to the wavelength-dependent refraction of light. In optical devices, it appears as colored fringes and edges (chromatic aberration). These are normally corrected at great expense. In “The Abbe Number”, they now become the aesthetic essence. The animated glass fragments create a kaleidoscopic play of colors and shapes, whose dynamic rhythm poetically translates the complex physics of light refraction. The simulation of the two projector lights from the direction of the Jena Volkshaus and Carl-Zeiß-Platz is directly integrated into the artistic work as a technical reality.
The work materializes scientific precision as an aesthetic experience. The Abbe number becomes the generator of a visual composition of light, color, and architecture. The high-rise building is thus transformed from a functional structure into a dispersion prism—a larger-than-life monument to the connection between science and art.
The work comes from the Berlin studio ZEITGUISED, which is considered a pioneer in algorithmic-photographic 3D simulation. For four decades now, the studio has been pushing the boundaries of digital imagery and constantly expanding them. Beginning with generative programming (1986), early 3D renderings (1998), and VR installations (2001), the studio has established a distinctive graphic-sculptural style, visible in the video “The Zoo” (2004) and the experimental film “Peripetics” (2021). The digital textile designs of “geist.xyz” (2016) are part of the Victoria & Albert Museum. With the help of real-time simulations, stage sets, AR sculptures, and virtual production sets are among the studio’s current works.
ZEITGUISED position themselves at the intersection of experimental design and visual art, between virtual simulation and physical materiality.
About Jenoptik tangente: Connection between business and art
Jenoptik has been hosting its own art exhibitions since 1996. Under the name “tangent” (in German “tangente”), they offer points of contact between business, technology, art, light, and perception. In 2022, Jenoptik transformed the exhibition series into “tangente digital art”, which showcases international and national digital art at the Jenoptik high-rise and headquarters, thus bringing its commitment to art into the broader public space. The artworks are projected in sizes of 960 and 625 m2 respectively onto two facades of the high-rise in the center of the city of light, Jena. ZEITGUISED is the eighth exhibition of tangente digital art.
Details about the exhibition
- tangente digital art: ZEITGUISED | The Abbe Number
- October 17 to 31, 2025, every half hour from 7 to 10 p.m.
- More information about ZEITGUISED and the video projection is available on Jenoptik's event web page.
- Images can be found in the Jenoptik image database. (More images and short video sequences will be added after the exhibition opens).
Thanks to the artists and our partners
In addition to the fantastic artists, we would also like to thank our dedicated partners who accompany and support the further development of our commitment to art, making it possible in the first place: JenaKultur, the Galerie Huber & Treff, and Robert Seidel for curating our exhibitions, and the Laser Event Company for managing the video mapping system.
About Jenoptik
Jenoptik is a global technology group operating in the photonics market. Our growth areas primarily include semiconductor technology, medical technology, metrology as well as smart mobility. Approximately 4,600 people worldwide work for the Jenoptik Group, which is headquartered in Jena (Germany). JENOPTIK AG is listed on the German Stock Exchange in Frankfurt and traded on the SDax and TecDax. In fiscal year 2024, Jenoptik generated revenue of around 1.12 billion euros.
