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CHRYSTAL GALLERY, EXHIBITION ONE
10.5.2010-10.06.2010 AT GENTILI APRI, BERLIN

Gentili Apri is teaming up with The Chrystal Gallery to present Exhibition One—a computer simulated group show with works by Kari Altmann, Charles Broskoski, Lindsay Lawson, Billy Rennekamp, Maxwell Simmer, and Harm Van Den Dorpel.

Utilizing the 3D and 4D know-how of curator and collaborator Timur Si-Qin, each artist was given the chance to propose a new idea or a new instance of a prior work. Options were based on combined skills in software like Maya, Realflow, 3D Studio Max, etc., and on available rendering time before the opening. Works were required to be placed in the predetermined but customizable "Chrystal Gallery" space, a simulated white cube interior of pristine walls and ample light. The current capabilities of this software and platform provide a new set of opportunities and limitations to respond to.

Exhibition One opened at Gentili Apri and on the internet at http://chrystalgallery.info concurrently. Still and moving images from various viewpoints in the simulated gallery were on display. The proposed animation was deemed impossible due to rendering time before opening night, so this piece currently only exists in documentation shots—moments in the animation that were rendered and exported into still images.

The six artists included here are all drawn from a similar network, one that is often confronted with the proposal and experience of ideas through the options provided by imaging software and the internet.

Further description and text about the show:
http://gentiliapri.com/exhibitions/the-chrystal-gallery

 

How to Hide Your Plasma (Handheld Icon Shapeshift for Liquid Chrystal Display)

 

Documentation Stills
(Melting Videos Forthcoming)

Free and ubiquitous 3d models of handheld materials (tactile icons) are set to an illusion of monumental size inside a rendered gallery room experienced only through scaled-down documentation. A single blob of clear plasma moves through this selected sequence of forms, and the walls of this alleged room are skinned with synthetic abstract imagery chosen in an attempt to resemble the form's usual apparition, much like 3D modeling software in which an image skin is applied to give the naked form a recognizable appearance. Like an alien interpretation of essential devices, this presentation takes on the workings of an impossible trap. It suggests that there is a relatable and profound tactile or visual experience to be had, if only one could access the dimension in which to have it.

The title is lifted from demonstration videos of moving and morphing plasma screen tvs, ones that are camouflaged with an art image or installed on robotic arms and sliders that move them into the ceiling or floor when not in use.

"Virtually everyone at one time or another has seen a plasma display at their local A/V retailer and become completely awestruck by the futuristic design. A little thicker than a painting, a plasma screen hangs on your wall like a piece of art. It takes up no floor space, thus broadening your decorating options. These elements are undeniably cool and make plasma screens objects of desire. When discussing video displays with your friends, it’s inevitable that the subject of plasmas come into the equation, usually with the conclusion that they are still too expensive. The question remains, 'Is this technology relevant?' Plasma displays differ greatly in price and performance."

Handheld also refers to cameras and lenses that are attached to the body directly--ones which inheret the body's movements. Shapes of plasma become lenses of their own through which their custom interior is viewed. In looking through these objects the illusion becomes more apparent.

In this case hiding your plasma is both a formal function of the work as it melts into the ground and reforms again and again, as well as a warning to the viewer. There is a masked logic operating behind the seemingly decorative or functional intentions, one that moves from one host interior to another with ease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iphone (Slab) Instance

Bone Instance

 

Rock (Megalith) Instance