The Discreet Charm of Technology
Arts in Spain
MEIAC, Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo
C/Museo, s/n. Badajoz. Spain
From June 12th to August 24th 2008
Opening: June 12th at 8:30 pm
http://www.meiac.es/artesenespana.htm
Starting June 12th, MEIAC, the Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo, will be showing more than a hundred works by 65 artists, comprising the first anthological exhibition on media art production in Spain.
The exhibition, produced by MEIAC, is organized by Spain's Ministry of Culture and the Regional Ministry for Culture and Tourism of the Autonomous Government of Extremadura. In September 2008, the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad, SEACEX, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation will take the show abroad, presenting it at the prestigious ZKM | Center for Art and Media of Karlsruhe (Germany).
The consolidation of art involving audiovisual, computer, digital and telematic technologies is a fact, but in the visual arts, technology is much more than a mere instrument. The works in this exhibition do not necessarily contain technological media, but they are based on innovative proposals rooted in technology and science. The show features painting, sculpture and photography alongside interactive installations, experimental film, video and the Internet.
The curators have divided the exhibition into five thematic sections focussing on five broad concerns in art and culture: ACTING ON THE FORMAL CODE; ACTING ON THE VISUAL CODE; ACTING ON THE SENSORIAL [SPACE-TIME] CODE; ACTING ON THE BODY'S INTERFACE; and ACTING ON THE REALITY INTERFACE.
The first section addresses the formalization of language, something first proposed by the medieval Majorcan philosopher Ramon Llull (13th century), who created rules of binary combinations to achieve a universal language. Six centuries later, digital computers, automation, artificial intelligence and cybernetics were all developed upon this foundation. Artists such as Barbadillo and Alexanco, pioneers of computer art in Spain, applied combinatory practices and the generative system in their works. More recently, Leandre and Lozano-Hemmer continue to develop this line of investigation.
The drawings and micro-photographs of the famous scientist and Nobel Prize winner Santiago Ramón y Cajal, which open the second section, enabled the invisible to be visualized, thus modifying our perception of our immediate surroundings. New fields of vision and action are explored by artists such as Daniel Canogar, Moisés Mañas and Agueda Simó.
The third section, "Acting on the sensorial [space-time] code", analyzes, through José Val de Omar's pioneering experimental films, the capacity of the media to overcome the traditional limits of space, time and the senses. The installations of Eugènia Balcells and Pedro Garhel, among others, offer the spectator multi-sensorial immersive experiences.
The body as interface and the way in which the idea of identity is constructed are some of the issues addressed by artists such as Pilar Albarracín, Marcel·lí Antúnez, Javier Codesal and Begoña Vicario. The body becomes a surface for exploring the individual as a perishable being, as well as an instrument for relating to society and questioning traditional concepts of gender.
Reality is a subjective perception which depends on how the subject is observed; that is the idea explored in the fifth and last section, entitled "Acting on the reality interface". Technological means enable us to make clear the coincidence between fiction and reality. The artists whose works feature in this section raise questions about the relations between the subject and the surrounding social environment. Pioneers such as Miralda, Rabascall, Montes-Baquer/Salvador Dalí, Muntadas, Torres and Fontcuberta, as well as artists forming part of the latest generation, such as Cajaraville, Marino, Ruiz de Infante and Valldosera, present artistic proposals of special interest that touch on this broad question.
International Itinerancy:
In pursuit of its goal of achieving international dissemination by presenting a selection of works from its media art collection in the world’s major capitals—Berlin, Beijing, New York, etc.—the MEIAC will present this exhibition at the prestigious German ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. This initiative will be supported by the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad, SEACEX.
Catalogue:
The catalogue, running to nearly 600 pages, is undoubtedly the most complete publication ever produced in Spain on this theme. It contains hitherto unpublished historical and reflective essays by prestigious artists and theorists who are specialized in the field, such as Eugeni Bonet, Amador Vega, Román Gubern, María Pallier, Javier Echevarría, Simón Marchan Fiz, Muntadas, José Val del Omar and José María Yturralde, among others.
