Category Archives: Essays

The Concrete to Data Transition from 3/21/15 to Forever

 

Concrete To Data photographed by Alexandra Pospelova
Concrete To Data photographed by Alexandra Pospelova

3/17/15

The Concrete to Data Transition from 3/21/15 to Forever.

Be it known, the Concrete to Data exhibition will commence in the Steinberg Museum of Art on Saturday 3/21/15 at 3PM. Thats right, this is the final week to see the show in the physical form. When the exhibition ends the murals are buffed. The computers will be shut down and taken away. The works on canvas, in print and framed on the wall will be removed. The sculptures will be returned and the pedestals will be put away.

But the documentation will live here on this url forever.

More news surrounding the Concrete to Data website is coming soon.

Concrete to Data through the Lens of Alexandra Pospelova

 2/28/15

Concrete to Data through the Lens of Alexandra Pospelova

I am excited to share a powerful series of Concrete to Data photographs taken by artist Alexandra Pospelova. The selected works give us a peek into the photographers process and how the space can be viewed.  We are taken through various complimentary color combinations and compositions. I asked Alexandra for a statement about shooting the exhibition and sharing her vision on the show.

Concrete To Data photographed by Alexandra Pospelova

“Unique, Moving, Powerful! Concrete to Data is a unique show because graffiti in its nature is an outdoor art form, while here, in Steinberg Museum of Art, one sees it in a totally different environment. It is moving because it makes the viewer look for hidden meanings by overwhelming, puzzling and, in some way, provocative quality. It is powerful because of its large scale spray-painted pieces that have more authority to a body viewing it in a space, as something one cannot take in with one glance. It was a pleasure to photograph such a large variety of mediums, creative ideas, and interesting stories that allowed me to penetrate deeper into seeing the essence of graffiti itself. The camera served as a great tool to discern that essence that cannot be viewed with a naked eye, but through some consideration.” 

Alexandra Pospelova is a young artist from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, living and working in New York City. In May of 2015 she will receive her B.F.A in Painting and Photography from Long Island University’s Post campus. Notably, in 2013 Alexandra attended the Firenze ArtiVisive school in Florence. In 2012 she was invited to South Korea, where she exhibited her work in four different cities. Alexandra is currently working on her senior thesis honors show that is about the role of art in the modern world. Her work is mostly acrylic on canvas or paper, and her signature work consists of abstract, simple minimalistic forms. Due perhaps to her early training in the arts, Alexandra likes experimenting with her medium of choice, eventually combining crafts with painting. It is important to her idea that she uses mixed media because it gives her work more expressiveness and precision. As to photography, in like manner, Alexandra appreciates older aesthetics, photo processes that experimented with different medium of choice by using unique techniques.

You can explore more of Alexandra’s work on her website –http://alexandrapo.com

Short-link to this post – http://wp.me/p5Jt5Y-gO

Connecting the Viewer & the Artist at Concrete to Data

2/20/15 

Connecting the Viewer & the Artist at Concrete to Data.

CtoD-Artist-Floor-Plan

Concrete to Data is currently in full swing. The exhibition has been open for just under 3 weeks. As the curator I am really happy with the exhibition as a whole. In an up and coming post I will share an essay about how the show came together. I want to first explain a micro-test that the show is conducting between the viewer, the works of art, the artists in the show and how the museums can play a new role in engaging all of the above. Concrete to Data can be accessed physically and virtually. Physically meaning, the viewer can come to the museum space and view the exhibition in a traditional way by walking around and experiencing the works in person “face to face.” Virtually meaning, the viewer can access the Concrete to Data website and explore the artists bios and individual pages, the works of art in the show and the several other engaging features on the site from any internet connection and device connected to the internet. The viewer can also chose to do both simultaneously.

For the first half of the show’s duration when visitors arrived they were handed only a printed map of the exhibition. The same map (above) lets the viewer know four things. 1. Who the artists are. 2. Where their work is located on the floor plan. 3. The Instagram handle of the artists. 4. The website url for the exhibition.

In the exhibition space there aren’t  labels on the walls that describe the work, the year it was created or the medium used. The viewer has to decide as to how they will obtain that information. To my surprise many of the show’s guests have done just that by snapping photos of the works that they like and posting them to their own Instagram feeds. They tagged back the artists as well. Some are asking specific questions about the works, and some are simply saying what they like about the work or the show as a whole. A lot of the artists are also responding back with statements of gratitude, a series of playful emoticons and replies to specific questions. This says a lot about how shows can be planned with this in mind. I kept this part of things to myself for the most part. The museum’ director Barbara Applegate was briefed and supported the idea. I am really grateful for that as I fully understand the risk involved for the museum staff who has to be on hand for the myriad of questions getting thrown at them each day.

Lecture

(photo by Melissa Delprete)

I was able to speak more about this during two public lectures in the exhibition space this past week. Both graduate and undergraduate level students from the applies arts, art education and art therapy programs were in attendance, as well as those who were simply interested in the show.

By Monday 2/23/15 another aspect of the show will become accessible to the viewers both online and offline. Aside from the museum map with the artists names, location of the work and Instagram handles, the titles, dates of creation, and mediums used will also be present. The viewer can take a paper hand out to work from, or they can pull up https://concretetodata.com to download this feature from various locations on the site. On the site itself each artist has an individual page where you will also find the titles of the work in the show, the dates of creation and the mediums used.

Concrete-to-Data-Artist-List-CtoD-list-2

Download the list of artist’s works with titles, dates, mediums below

–> Concrete to Data Artist List <–

The site also puts features on the collaborative works in the show, some of which have been made on internet platforms, 3D printed or placed in a remote location on the campus where the museum is located. The viewer will now have more choices to make, and access to knowing more information. How will this upgrade affect bringing back those who may have visited this past week?

What is your take on this? Have you been to Concrete to Data exhibition? What are you thoughts on the presentation of how the works are displayed to the viewer? Will you access the information on the site via your mobile device or tablet while you are walking through the exhibition?

Gallery View 5 photo by Alexandra Pospelova

(photo by Alexandra Pospelova)

short-link to this post – http://wp.me/p5Jt5Y-gu

Concrete to Data Recomposed in Virtual Reality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XADylOtBu0U&feature=youtu.be

Scott Tongue is an artist working with VR for Concrete to Data. Virtual Reality and its hardware, software, and presence have come of age and enters the Concrete to Data exhibition in this great video walk through. Rather than mapping the show in the exact format as one experiences it in the physical world, Scott and his colleague Ryan Cantar, an artist who helped generate Ryan Seslow’s concrete aerosol cans and Leon Reid IV’s floor installation titled “Rising Homicide” using 3D modeling techniques in Maya.  This video has been formatted for easy viewing on the web, tablet or any mobile device. The exhibition space has been recreated yet redefined. On several occasions through the show’s duration, Scott is present with the Oculus headset. Experiencing the exhibition space and the physical works in person is a great multi-sensory contrast by putting on the Oculus headset and re-experiencing the space and the works in the VR format.

The headset is by far the best way to experience the works in this video. Want to experience Concrete to Data via Oculus Rift?

Contact us here to make an appointment in the museum : info@concretetodata.com

Encrypted Fills & New Media Works at Concrete to Data

rambogif5

GIF by General Howe

Encrypted Fills is making its debut offline appearance in the Concrete to Data exhibition currently on view at the Steinberg Museum of Art in Brookville NY through March 21st 2015. The collaborative project that launched this past summer was initiated and created by RJ Rushmore and Ryan Seslow.

 Artists

Abe Lincoln Jr. – Adam VOID – Broken Fingaz – CAKE – Caroline Caldwell – Enzo & Nio – Enzo Sarto – Gaia – General Howe – Jilly Ballistic – John Fekner – Leon Reid IV – Olek – Monique Spier – Michael Branson Smith – Peter Drew – Rone – Ryan Seslow – Stinkfish – Swampy

GRaff

GIF by SLOW

RJ Rushmore describes Encrypted Fills: “We have been watching for years (and Ryan’s been participating as an artist himself) as people in the street art and graffiti world have turned to experimenting with new mediums like GIFs, video art, and related forms of electronic documentation to express their ideas on digital platforms. Sometimes the aesthetics of the work are nearly indistinguishable from static street pieces, and other times these digital works are hardly recognizable as related to street art or graffiti, but we believe that these new works come from the same place. Artists who have been getting up outdoors are now reaching out to a similar digital public, and it’s opened the door for those artists to reach beyond static images. We are very excited about this development. We want to promote this work and identify it as something particular and distinct from other art being produced in the street art and graffiti communities. We also want to preserve the best examples of it for posterity, lest in the future we think of these works as standard and forget the artistic leaps that were made in the last few years and those that will be made in the years to come.”

Enzo_Sarto_Angel_Number_One_zpsd38a2793

GIF by Enzo Sarto

Media Station2

Encrypted Fills as a presence in the exhibition functions on a pedestal using an imac computer to display the digital works. A mouse is accessible for the viewer to scroll through the site and select what they wish to view via category. Encrypted Fills has been placed site specifically into the composition of the gallery as a whole. To the left of the piece is an arrangement of Martha Cooper’s classic series of 1980’s NYC graffiti photos from the Subway Art book. Trains by DONDI, LEE, FUTURA, DUSTER, BLADE and more are present.

Media Station4

To the right of Encrypted Fills are another two pedestals, one of which is also equipped with an imac computer. A short and powerful politically charged animated film by General Howe and a series of 3D prints by collaborators GAIA & Pablo Gnecco.

GaiaPablo4

The three consolidated pedestals of works lead the viewer into the largest aspect of the exhibition. A huge fragmented mural of 18 feet in height filling a half rotunda shape. The collaborative mural pieces are a celebration of artistic styles, techniques and methods painted and pasted directly onto the wall. It gives the viewer a survey of evolution over the last 25 years. Transitions and progressions with aerosol paint to hand painted murals using latex, acrylic and homemade concoctions created site on scene. Encrypted Fills resides in between the documentation of the past and the explosive evolution of the continued applied methods. Encrypted Fills represents the energy of the digital age and its tools to continue expanding the street art and graffiti movements. Context and interpretation of the subjects will be up to each individual viewer. Where do you stand?

Abenoxious on Vimeo copy

Video Still by Abe Lincoln Jr.

Adam Void   Encrypted Fills copy

Video Still by Adam Void

Selected video art works are also accessible to the viewer via the Encrypted Fills imac terminal, as well as opportunities to see 4 selected video art works via DVD playing on a flat screen monitor. Works by Abe Lincoln JrAdam Void & Ryan Seslow, and Adam Void & Karim Tabbaa loop consistently.

UNDERWATER TREASURES on Vimeo copy

Video Still by OLEK

Video Art   Encrypted Fills   Page 2 copy

Video Still by John Fekner

Video Art   Encrypted Fills copy

Video Still by SWAMPY

Viewers may also read and interact with RJ Rushmore’s VIRAL ART book and investigate Luna Park’s Flickr Galleries side by side.

Media Stations

Jilly Ballistic - output_BKBlwA

GIF by Jilly Ballistic

The Encrypted Fills archive continues to grow and both RJ and Ryan are in the planning stages of the second exhibition series. Concrete to Data is the first example of how and where the online presentation can expand to. Traditional museum spaces and or galleries are just a small part of the module. They intend to experiment with non traditional spaces as well as public space both planned and unplanned. Artists are also being contacted to venture into digitally collaborating with other artists by weaving their works together through both applied and digital processes. More to come.

Mother 2

GIF by Monique Spier

The new media works in the show are all available via any internet connection using the links below. It is the intention of the curator to induce the viewer to engage via their mobile device, tablets or personal computers. Concrete to Data as an exhibition never really ends..

Screen the selected new media works here:

Encrypted Fills – http://encryptedfills.com

Encrypted Fills GIF Feed – http://www.encryptedfills.com/category/gif

General Howe – http://www.encryptedfills.com/hector-delagado-has-ptsd

RJ Rushmore’s VIRAL ART Bookhttp://viralart.vandalog.com/read

LUNA PARK – Flickr Galleries – https://www.flickr.com/photos/lunapark/sets

Abe Lincoln Jr. – http://www.encryptedfills.com/abenoxious

Adam Void & Ryan Seslow – http://www.encryptedfills.com/grafideo

Adam Void & Ryan Seslow – http://www.encryptedfills.com/virtuous-reality

Concrete to Data

The CONCRETE TO DATA Website serves as a repository of information for the exhibition. In various capacities it informs, shares, documents and grows as the show goes on. And on it will go, especially after the physical space gets buffed and uninstalled. Through out the exhibition Encrypted Fills and Concrete to Data will collaborate on new projects that will be introduced at various points of the show.

Concrete-to-Data-Logo1

Lastly, Concrete to Data.com has initiated its first collaborative project that invites the public to participate. Prior to the launch of the exhibition participating artists were invited to generate remixes and riffs of the original concrete to data logo above. The purpose is to build a new visual repository of stylistic variety by using the text from the show’s title. The submitted works will form and build an organic online gallery. This is a call for submissions, do you want to riff, remix or reinterpret the logo?

Go here – https://www.concretetodata.com/projects/logo-riffs-and-remixes

short-link to this post :: http://www.ryanseslow.com/BmZ07