December 14, 2024 - Februrary 24, 20-25
Opening Reception: Saturday, December 14
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
NATURAL CONTACTS (2024)
custom software
“NATURAL CONTACTS” is a piece of malware designed to arrest control over its host machine for twenty-four hours, transforming it into a dynamic virtual garden. The piece plays with notions of time as understood by software, probing viewers’ attention and encouraging us to reimagine the possibilities of administrative technology beyond its traditional work-centric confines.
Every component of the imposed malware was designed for a slow collective drama unfolding around a quietly rotting corpse. As the piece progresses, the once verdant landscape transforms into a barren, snow laden field, only later to become overgrowth. Seasonal birds, appearing from offscreen, come to rest on the branches while flies disappear behind the movement of the cursor. As days become nights and the seasons pass, remnants of the landscape's prior states reappear as wind-swept images strewn across the desktop.
Taken as a whole, the work presents a world where technology and nature coexist in a strange balance that doesn’t take into account the wishes of its user. This software effectively transforms them into a powerless observer who must not only watch their computer carry on without their involvement, but forces them confront their non-digital lives for an extended period of time.
Peter Burr’s practice often engages with tools of the video game industry in the form of immersive cinematic artworks. These pieces have been presented internationally by various institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His practice has been recognized through grants and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Creative Capital Grant. He is a current PhD candidate in the Games and Simulation Arts & Sciences program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Bridget DeFranco is an artist working in ambient game systems. Her practice explores models of perspective as simulated in 3D virtual environments. She is currently a PhD candidate in Critical Game Design at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She holds an MFA in Digital + Media from Rhode Island School of Design and a BS in Integrated Digital Media from New York University. Her work has been exhibited at places including Annka Kultys Gallery, Currents New Media Festival, Yale School of Art, and Boston Cyberarts.
Matthew D. Gantt is an artist, composer, and educator focused on sound in virtual spaces, generative systems facilitated by idiosyncratic technology, and digital production presets as sonic readymades. He worked as a studio assistant to electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick and has been an active participant in the international creative community, performing at spaces such as Pioneer Works, Issue Project Room, Roulette, Babycastles, EMPAC, and countless DIY venues across North America.
Mark Fingerhut writes computer software that transforms operating systems into a space for digital theatre and a tool for physical performance. Using these same tools, he composes temporal desktop poems focusing on themes such as time, interpersonal connection, communication, chaos, and coincidence. A 2015 graduate of Pratt Institute, his work has gained international recognition through exhibitions at Ars Electronica, performances at the New Museum, and on platforms associated with Adult Swim and Rhizome. |
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