ART:NYC: "Convergence"

June 3 – 19
Reception: June 3, 6pm
Artist discussion: June 5, 1pm

“Convergence” is an exhibition where new media art and communications technology challenge traditional concepts of portraiture, art, and gallery space.

“Convergence” tells of a new role for technology in contemporary art, one where the boundaries are blurred between old and new media and between digital and physical realms.

In the traditional museum and gallery setting the visitor is an observer who is physically separated from the artworks. “Convergence” invites Museum visitors to touch and manipulate the works which brings them to life.

In this way, the artworks foretell a future in which more democratic and powerful modes of communication allow a greater multiplicity of people to express themselves and share ideas freely.

The exhibition features the innovations of nine visionary artists, designers, engineers, programmers, and musicians from the U.S. and Europe.

Highlights:

“Infinite City”
Artists: Jean-Marc Gauthier, Miro Kirov,
James Tunick

Infinite City is an interactive multimedia installation that transports audience members
to a futuristic 3D cityscape.

Surrounded by a 30-foot immersive projection display and a multi-channel surround sound system, viewers establish control of their surroundings through ultrasonic sensors.

Hand movements guide a virtual camera through the 3D world and alter the spatial position of ambient sound.

“Swarm”
Artist: Daniel Shiffman
Swarm is a live video installation that implements the pattern of flocking birds
(using Craig Reynold's "Boids" model) as a constantly moving brush stroke.

Taking inspiration from Jackson Pollack's "drip and splash" technique of pouring a continuous stream of paint onto a canvas, "Swarm" smears colors captured from video input, producing an organic painterly effect in real-time.

“Interactive Sound Installation”
Artist: Konrad Kaczmarek
This installation piece transforms fragments
of conversations into rhythmic and melodic patterns.

As the participants approach the installation, the relative sound level of their conversation triggers individual words and phrases to be recorded into the mix, producing live music keyed into the current environment.

“See-Through Wall”
Artists: Dana Karwas, Gabe Winer

"See-Through Wall" is an interactive video art work that redefines of space by blending the real architecture of the gallery space with virtual architecture, giving viewers “x-ray” vision to see through the walls of the gallery and out into a virtual urban landscape.

The "See-Through Wall" collects what is present in reality, reinterpreting it within a virtual space, and recontextualizing reality through
the process of architectural projections.

“Convergence” is being produced in conjunction with the current exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum, “Surface Tension”, curated by Manon Slome, which addresses the influence of technology on contemporary painting.

The exhibition is part of the Project Room program series and “Introductions” workshops in the arts and technology produced by Nina Colosi with the Electronic Music Foundation.

“Introductions” is a series of discussions with leading artists in music and art and technology who perform and/or demonstrate their ideas and techniques in working with computers, software, synthesizers, video, and other technologies.
The June 5th discussion focuses on the issue
of – guess what -- convergence.
Find it: Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd Street@11th Ave.
Get info: (212) 255-0719

Read more art news in the June 2004 issue of "Arte Six".