Event 5/3: DESMA MFA Exhibition ~ Delete Me

Event 5/3
Design Media Arts MFA Exhibition: DELETE ME
Location: Broad Arts, Wight gallery
Date: 18 May 2017
Time: 5:00 - 7:00pm
Focus Artist: Lander
Piece: Knicker Twister


I attended a multi-artist exhibition called DELETE ME, in which eleven artists displayed a total of sixteen exhibitions related to the concept of the human condition as it relates to a world that is permanently etched into a digital atmosphere. “Deletion has always been work - that’s why there are editors. It’s a labor of reclaiming space, creating conditions to begin again” (http://dma.ucla.edu/exhibitions/mfa/deleteme/).  

Following the theme of “reclaiming space” and “creating conditions to begin again,” the work, Knicker Twister, of artist Lander is a general commentary on the state of humans as we react to our internal thoughts and external environments. He calls the work, which he said took him four months to complete, an ode to “big fusses over little issues.” Occupying the center of the gallery, the Knicker Twister is an illuminated, rotating tornado of boxes, children’s toys, dolls, figurines, and underwear all dipped in white paint and powered by a hydraulic system that you can see powering the movement of the piece. The mechanics behind the system are four circuits of liquid being pumped through the entire piece, and is something that I interpret as representing our internal thought system and that is the literal lifeblood that fuels the system.






Furthermore, the artist claims that his choice of objects is irrelevant and open for interpretation. At the base of the piece is a stack of toilet paper encased in a fancy, glass case that one would typically display a cake in. The artist claimed that the idea behind the piece of that people tend to make a big deal out of little things, and these little things begin to build up into a storm of unnecessary conflict. Ultimately, he claims that it is meaningless and silly for us to make such a big deal out of little things. “Why is the toilet paper in a glass case?” “That’s the point, isn’t it? It’s silly.”

One element that he did explicitly state a purpose for was the presence of digital screens containing images of various people of various races, genders, and ages. This element of the piece was to signal that this condition of making a big deal out of little things is universal - it is something that can affect anyone anywhere.




Lander's work is a perfect example of the intersection of art, science, and technology, especially considering that he figured out how to make the hydraulic pump system work all on his own. I would recommend that my classmates visit this exhibit and see what the other artists have to offer as well.





selfie of participation with the artist Lander
Here are some other images of some of the works from other artists represented at the exhibition.













Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 3: Robotics + Art

Image
Week 3: Robotics + Art  April 20, 2017 With respect to robotics and the concept of artificial intelligence, there seems to be two polar ends of the spectrum of attitudes towards modern technology’s progression toward creating more intelligent and mechanized apparatuses to assist humans with various types of production. On the one end, there seems to be an innate curiosity as to how far we can take robots and artificial intelligence, and how robots and technology can continue to improve the human condition. On the other end of the spectrum, humans seem to fear robots - they fear that robots will take over menial jobs and they fear the artificial intelligence will become too intelligent and take over the world. In Professor Machiko Kusahara’s brief lecture on Japanese robotics, she discusses the cultural divide in how many Western versus Japanese cultures have viewed robots historically. To generalize, she states that while many Western countries typically “employ robo...
Read more

Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

Image
Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art May 20, 2017 Let’s consider art to be a process requiring creativity for an aesthetic outcome. And let’s look at the combination of technology and science as a means to continue discovering new things about the world for the betterment of the human condition. Combining all three elements leads us to a whole other realm in which the boundaries we typically see separating these three elements are blurred until you can’t tell which is which. https://image.slidesharecdn.com/ quantumcomputerspart5scanningtunnelingmicroscopebylilisaghafi- 150622195734-lva1-app6891/95/ quantum-computers-part-5- scanning-tunneling-microscope-by- lili-saghafi-46-638.jpg?cb=1437871409 We can see this blurring of lines in the study and science of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology deals with the likes of atoms and molecules of sizes so small it’s still beyond my comprehension. Nonetheless, from the lectures given by Dr. Jim Gimzewski on the work that has been and is being done...
Read more

Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

Image
Week 7: Neuroscience + Art  May 17, 2017  Despite the fact that we have been discussing the intersection of art, science, and technology, I still find it difficult to train my mind to think of the products of science (i.e. images of the brain or of the body) as art. Perhaps this is the case because of the divide that society has placed between the two realms. However, after watching this week’s lecture and learning about projects such as Suzanne Anker’s fMRI butterfly and Luke Maninov Hammond’s jewelry projects, I have a new appreciation for being able to see how the products of science and technology - especially in representing the functions of the brain - can be seen as more than just science artifacts, but also as art. Anker’s fMRI butterfly is an art piece composed of MRI scans overlaid with a Rorschach test, and then overlaid with an image of an identical butterfly on each scan. Because of the variation in the Rorschach overlays, the butterflies on each of ...
Read more