Three Physical Digital Art Exhibitions in New York
The art world can’t stop talking about digital art right now, following Christies’s infamous auction of NFTs that saw a glorified certificate of authenticity sell for $69 million. Digital art, however, has a long history and isn’t necessarily associated with crypto technology like NFTs. Three shows up now in New York pay homage to digital art’s place in the historical canon and offer a variety of approaches to displaying it in a gallery setting, occupying physical space as well as virtual reality.
Cory Arcangel, /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ Let’s Play: HOLLYWOOD, 2017-21, Custom built high performance computer rig (AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 16-core 32-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor central processing unit, Rog Crosshair Viii Dark Hero motherboard, G.SKILL 64GB (2 x 32GB) Trident Z Neo Series DDR4 PC4-21300 2666 MHz 288-Pin Desktop Memory Model F4-2666C18D-64GTZN random access memory, (x2) EVGA 24G-P5-3975-KR GeForce RTX 3090 XC3 Ultra Gaming graphics processing units’ & Corsair Professional Series AX 1200 Watt Digital ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum (AX1200i) power supply, various peripherals), custom built Deep-Q Learning RPG playing software bot with system sounds by Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), Kim Kardashian: Hollywood casual free-to-play role-playing Android game, Android phone, amplifier & speakers, various cables, Dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the gallery.
Cory Arcangel, most famous for his “hacked” Super Mario Bros Nintendo cartridge that removed everything but the clouds from the game, has a new show of digital and physical work up now at Greene Naftali. If Super Mario Clouds was 8-bit minimalism hacked down to its absolute essentials, then /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/ Let’s Play: HOLLYWOOD depicts an opposite approach: the maximalism of neobaroque virtual reality. Pixelated clouds no longer drift lazily by: this new world shows gameplay, AI, surveillance, and performance converging on a single overcrowded point, all operating beyond direct human influence.
Cory Arcangel, Century 21, Greene Naftali, 508 West 26th Street, Ground Floor, New York, NY 10001. March 5 – April 17 2021. https://www.greenenaftaligallery.com/exhibition-highlights/cory-arcangel/selected-works
Auriea Harvey, Minoriea, 2018, 3D printed PLA and composite (PLA, bronze) self-hardening clay, epoxy clay, 15.4 x 9.5 x 9.7 in. Image courtesy of the gallery.
Auriea Harvey’s solo show at bitforms has the scope of a museum retrospective: some of the works on display date back to the early days of net art in the 90s. Celebrated for her work as a game designer with Tale of Tales, Harvey’s sculptures blend traditional techniques with 3D printing technology and look like characters transported to our reality from a digital fantasy world.
Auriea Harvey, Year Zero, bitforms gallery, 113 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002. March 6 – April 24 2001. https://bitforms.art/
Installation view of Packaged For Pleasure: Brought To You By The Terminal (2021).
A virtual cabinet of curiosities that exists as both a single digital work and a collection of individual pieces, The Terminal: Human Shaped Whole is a mise-en-abysme of digital art turned inside out. Accessible through QR codes in the physical gallery space as well as online <https://seekbeak.com/v/ydjWA8g5132?fbclid=IwAR3QJT4T_sAETVtReCFvNHdTi3YNfdJ_7rTgImj-hfntuyeupF0XusADunk>, it features work by Claire Jervert, Bob Bicknell-Knight, Ian Bruner, among others. The interactive installation gives an ironic sense of claustrophobia: digital technology promises unlimited digital space and yet everything feels compressed, as if the weight of virtual reality is collapsing on itself.
The Terminal: Human Shaped Whole, Directed by Jason Isolini, featuring work by Bob Bicknell-Knight, Ian Bruner, Joshua Citarella, Jessica Evans, James Irwin, Claire Jervert, Kakia Konstantinaki, Angeline Meitzler, Erin Mitchell and Neale Willis, curated by Off Site Project, Anonymous Gallery, 138 Baxter Street, New York, NY, 10002, April 8 – May 1 2021. http://anonymousgallery.com/all
