In many ways it seemed as though something in the universe had been telling me the coronavirus pandemic was to come. I miraculously chose this semester to take a leave of absence from my college (which is five miles west of New Rochelle, the epicenter of the New York outbreak) and to spend it, instead, at Artscope Magazine’s “underground bunker” (so nick-named for its location under a rug shop). At the beginning of the pandemic I joked that COVID-19 was a form of divine intervention… a “Noah’s arc-type situation.” I don’t know if that’s what this is exactly, but I do know that what is happening now is both an ecological/biological and social/cultural episode. The pandemic did not come as a surprise to everyone. The first recorded travel-related COVID-19 case came to America on January 21, while the outbreak in Wuhan had been ongoing since December. People like Bill Gates have been … [Read more...] about REFLECTIONS FROM UNDER THE RUG SHOP: A PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19 FROM INSIDE ARTSCOPE MAGAZINE
technology
COLOR FIELDS REVISITED: FLOOR VAN DE VELDE’S RHYTHMIC LIGHT BOXES AT SNHU
Floor van de Velde got inspiration for her light boxes — featured in her latest exhibition, “Variations on ColorFields,” which opens on November 8 at McIninch Art Gallery on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University, from a Rothko exhibition at the Harvard Art Museum. “The university decided to hang some of Rothko’s panels in a dining room,” she said. “The panels lost the majority of their pigment over the years and they were considered damaged beyond repair. But then the Harvard Museum decided to try to revive the color by using projected light. Most critics and curators were busy discussing whether this method was as reliable or effective as traditional art renovation techniques, but meanwhile it made for a fascinating show that played with notions of color and light. I found myself returning to the show several times and just sitting there enjoying the luminous color … [Read more...] about COLOR FIELDS REVISITED: FLOOR VAN DE VELDE’S RHYTHMIC LIGHT BOXES AT SNHU
AN EERIE FEELING OF FAMILIARITY: JONATHAN MONAGHAN’S FUTURISTIC VISION IN LOWELL
As 2020 approaches, many years since “we were supposed to have flying cars” have past. Popular stories in film and literature like “1984,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and “Back to the Future Part II” take place in a future passed, leaving us laughing at the ridiculous technology that doesn’texist yet. But “The Running Man” and “Blade Runner” both take place in 2019 (the latter starts in November), but the planet isn’t like that either. This leaves us wondering what’s to come, since various predictions were proven incorrect by time. Enter a world unknown, and known, in “A Trace by the Future,” where 2019 meets an unnamed year, on view at UMass Lowell’s University Gallery through November 21. Washington, D.C.-based artist Jonathan Monaghan’s exhibition featuring recent work incorporates pastels and fluorescents, pop culture and technology in sculpture, video, print and … [Read more...] about AN EERIE FEELING OF FAMILIARITY: JONATHAN MONAGHAN’S FUTURISTIC VISION IN LOWELL
VICTOR PACHECO: REFLECTING THE TIMES
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT VICTOR PACHECO: A BEAUTIFUL CONNECTION KRIKORIAN GALLERY WORCESTER CENTER FOR CRAFTS 25 SAGAMORE ROAD WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS MARCH 15 THROUGH APRIL 28 by Brian Goslow While the initial response to seeing one of Victor Pacheco’s frog sculptures is to smile or laugh, there’s a deeper meaning behind the amphibious forms — they’re intended to turn a mirror on society and provide an observation of what’s happening when we interact with technology. “A lot of the scenarios I set up are things that are commonly happening, things like using an iPad or a phone while you’re sitting on a toilet,” Pacheco said. The first of his web-footed creatures “jumped” out at visitors to the Worcester Center for Crafts during its “Ambient Folklore” exhibition in 2014 and caught the attention of Krikorian Gallery director Candace Casey, who offered him a solo show. “I … [Read more...] about VICTOR PACHECO: REFLECTING THE TIMES
ART IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET: THE MALEVOLENT AND THE SUBLIME
REVIEW ART IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET, 1989 TO TODAY ICA, BOSTON 25 HARBOR SHORE DRIVE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS THROUGH MAY 20 by Suzanne Volmer It was surprising when the ICA, Boston opened its Diller Scofidio + Renfro-designed Seaport location in 2006 to see the architectural feature of a media lab centrally located inside. As a foretelling note, it spoke not only of the ICA’s institutional intention to position itself as an important archive of performance art, but the dizzying configuration reflected in vertigo-like terms the idea that digitization has and would continue to alter human experience. “Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today” addresses that trajectory and is a fascinatingly diverse exhibition. Curated by Eva Respini, the ICA’s Barbara Lee Chief Curator, this show explores quirks amid the vastness of virtual space and the A.I. frontier. Organized … [Read more...] about ART IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET: THE MALEVOLENT AND THE SUBLIME