Fresh Projects: Shimmer

New Museum of Contemporary Art / Chelsea – Media Lounge

Dates : November 10 – December 31, 2005

Fresh Projects is an experimental showcase for artists working in all aspects of digital media.

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Fresh Projects act as a showcase for emerging artists working in all aspects of the digital medium. Shimmer presents two installations, created using generative software, that reconfigure the gallery into a laboratory for innovation in the use of scale and material. In Waken, Beth Coleman and Howard Goldkrand use a code that emulates the movement of bees in nature to create sound that is characterized by diversity, accident, and spontaneous growth. This work, which continues their investigation into system design and generative forms, creates a kind of electronic-architectural distortion of space. In Bifid, Alisa Andrasek uses a form of “design intelligence” – a combination of genetic engineering techniques and design software – to create a field of intricate and translucent fabric structures. Here, Bifid takes the form of an architectural installation, but in theory, it could manifest itself as an infinitely customized design product, the surface of clothing, or a dynamic sound pattern.
In Bifid, Alisa Andrasek uses a form of “design intelligence” – a combination of genetic engineering techniques and design software – to create a constellation-like field of intricate and translucent fabric structures. The orders and synchronicities of this design intelligence provide the fabric with the flexibility to adjust and adapt to a number of configurations in the space. In this exhibition, Bifid takes the form of an architectural installation, but in theory, it could also manifest itself as an infinitely customized design product, the surface of clothing, or a dynamic sound pattern.
Beth Coleman and Howard Goldkrand’s sculpture Waken builds across a network of signals in an installation of bio-dynamic materials and audio speakers. Using a code that emulates the movement of bees in nature, the artists create a “sonic prairie” characterized by diversity, accident and spontaneous growth. Experienced spatially, their installation results in a kind of electronic-architectural distortion of space.
Media Lounge exhibitions and public programs are supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Jerome Foundation in celebration of the Jerome Hill Centennial, and the New York State Council on the Arts. The New Museum of Contemporary Art receives general operating support from the Carnegie Corporation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, JPMorgan Chase, and members of the New Museum.