Interactive art at santralistanbul
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 13, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - A new exhibition at santralistanbul Art Gallery, ’Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts,’ invites viewers to become users, participators and creators. Some of the works shown in the exhibition are being presented in an artistic context for the first time
Digital and interactive media, and the way these intriguing art forms are transforming the relationship between the viewer and the artwork, are the focus of a new exhibit at the santralistanbul art center.
"Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts" at santralistanbul Art Gallery brings together a selection of contemporary works by more than 80 artists and artist groups from around the world, many well known for their pioneering and innovative work in the new-media field. The exhibition allows visitors to explore this absorbing art form and all its participatory aspects.
Some of the works shown in the exhibit are being presented in an artistic context for the first time, including "reactable," an instrument with a tabletop, multi-touch interface that was used by the Icelandic musician Björk on her album "Volta." The piece allows visitors, or, perhaps more accurately in this context, "users," to collectively produce music with the same sounds and methods employed by Björk.
Another example of such works is "Camera Lucida," by Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand. This duo from Belarus has received much interest and many awards at the most important festivals in Europe for the liquid the pair has developed as the result of research conducted with the aim of visualizing sound. Domnitch and Gelfand's work has also attracted the interest of important scientific institutions, including NASA. After the exhibition’s run concludes at santralistanbul, "Camera Lucida" will be used in a research project to be carried out with the support of NASA.
Artistic concepts and science
"Uncharted" not only brings art together with science, but also prompts discussion about artistic concepts that are being updated by technologies that advance every day. While inviting the viewer to become a user, a creative participant in the art process, the exhibition also introduces important figures, such as Marcel Duchamp and Peter Weibel, who have extensively investigated these concepts over the history of art.
The exhibition includes work by artists from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Korea and the United States, as well as those from Europe. Many of the young artists who participated in the exhibition are pioneers who have taken initiative with technological developments on the digital platform; have participated in the various media festivals that are followed with interest by both technology companies and art academies in Europe; and have received various awards.
But "Uncharted" also spotlights the presence of Turkey, and Turkish artists, on the international contemporary-art scene. By bringing young Turkish artists together with their international contemporaries, the exhibit is likely to open up new perspectives among the young Turkish population on the potential employment opportunities offered in the fields of informatics, technology and art.
Contribution to Turkish art
In its opening exhibit, "Modern and Beyond," santralistanbul explored modern Turkish art. The institution now intends to make yet another contribution to the Turkish art world with this global-scale media-arts exhibition, by gathering resources that constitute sustainability in the contemporary art field. With "Uncharted", santralistanbul aims to create a permanent source for media arts, a field whose examples have not yet met with Turkish viewers in the professional sense. A book about the exhibition is being prepared and is expected to represent a substantial resource for both technology-developing institutions and academic activities.
"Uncharted" was realized with the contribution of the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, or ZKM, a pioneering cultural institution for the last 20 years in Europe; the University of Art and Design Lausanne, or ECAL, a distinguished design institute in Europe; and independent curators. The part of the exhibition titled "YOU_ser. The Century of the Consumer" is presented by the ZKM and addresses the limits of this new user-focused art.
The exhibition should appeal to both culture and art lovers and informatics and technology fans, students, families and children. It is accompanied by side activities, including workshops, festivals and performances. "Uncharted" opened on March 21 and is on display in the Main Gallery of santralistanbul between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day, except Mondays. It will be on view through Aug. 16.
"Uncharted: User Frames in Media Arts" at santralistanbul Art Gallery brings together a selection of contemporary works by more than 80 artists and artist groups from around the world, many well known for their pioneering and innovative work in the new-media field. The exhibition allows visitors to explore this absorbing art form and all its participatory aspects.
Some of the works shown in the exhibit are being presented in an artistic context for the first time, including "reactable," an instrument with a tabletop, multi-touch interface that was used by the Icelandic musician Björk on her album "Volta." The piece allows visitors, or, perhaps more accurately in this context, "users," to collectively produce music with the same sounds and methods employed by Björk.
Another example of such works is "Camera Lucida," by Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand. This duo from Belarus has received much interest and many awards at the most important festivals in Europe for the liquid the pair has developed as the result of research conducted with the aim of visualizing sound. Domnitch and Gelfand's work has also attracted the interest of important scientific institutions, including NASA. After the exhibition’s run concludes at santralistanbul, "Camera Lucida" will be used in a research project to be carried out with the support of NASA.
Artistic concepts and science
"Uncharted" not only brings art together with science, but also prompts discussion about artistic concepts that are being updated by technologies that advance every day. While inviting the viewer to become a user, a creative participant in the art process, the exhibition also introduces important figures, such as Marcel Duchamp and Peter Weibel, who have extensively investigated these concepts over the history of art.
The exhibition includes work by artists from Australia, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Korea and the United States, as well as those from Europe. Many of the young artists who participated in the exhibition are pioneers who have taken initiative with technological developments on the digital platform; have participated in the various media festivals that are followed with interest by both technology companies and art academies in Europe; and have received various awards.
But "Uncharted" also spotlights the presence of Turkey, and Turkish artists, on the international contemporary-art scene. By bringing young Turkish artists together with their international contemporaries, the exhibit is likely to open up new perspectives among the young Turkish population on the potential employment opportunities offered in the fields of informatics, technology and art.
Contribution to Turkish art
In its opening exhibit, "Modern and Beyond," santralistanbul explored modern Turkish art. The institution now intends to make yet another contribution to the Turkish art world with this global-scale media-arts exhibition, by gathering resources that constitute sustainability in the contemporary art field. With "Uncharted", santralistanbul aims to create a permanent source for media arts, a field whose examples have not yet met with Turkish viewers in the professional sense. A book about the exhibition is being prepared and is expected to represent a substantial resource for both technology-developing institutions and academic activities.
"Uncharted" was realized with the contribution of the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, or ZKM, a pioneering cultural institution for the last 20 years in Europe; the University of Art and Design Lausanne, or ECAL, a distinguished design institute in Europe; and independent curators. The part of the exhibition titled "YOU_ser. The Century of the Consumer" is presented by the ZKM and addresses the limits of this new user-focused art.
The exhibition should appeal to both culture and art lovers and informatics and technology fans, students, families and children. It is accompanied by side activities, including workshops, festivals and performances. "Uncharted" opened on March 21 and is on display in the Main Gallery of santralistanbul between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. every day, except Mondays. It will be on view through Aug. 16.