etoy picked a few favorites from the current
Synthetic Times show at the National Art Museum of China in four relevant but arguable categories:
Innovation:
all agents agree on this one
Sissel Tolaas' wall with the scent of 11 men under fear. By introducing this "new media" the artist opens up a totally new space for both: deep intellectual reflection at the base of human communications as well as a strong and ultra direct sensual experience. For the etoy.AGENTS this is one of the best and most radical artworks ever. Unfortunately in Beijing Tolaas is not presented in its own separate room which would be necessary to unfold the full potential of this excellent example of:
A) ART IN BETWEEN: super abstract on the visual level, totally intangible in its essence and ultra concrete (REAL - NO FAKE!) on the technical / scientific layer.
B) INTERACTION: people have to rub the wall in order to release the scent (intangible art that you have to touch to release. No mouse / No screen. No visible interface ->just perfect).
C) THE PERVERSION OF THE NATURAL: while smelling is part of our fundamental navigation system it almost always remains undercover and subliminal - as long as a sent is not too penetrating... the fear of 11 men is certainly very penetrating!
... as with every good artwork there are hundreds of other levels that can be discussed... find out yourself! but control your instincts when consuming FEAR11.
and stop breathing when walking by more than 10 times a day! (And don't rub the walls before you had breakfast!!!)
Interaction:
agent haefliger suggests
blendid - a collective that built a human-sized scanner that would take anyone's picture and display it on the scan surface seconds after the exposure. It works perfectly fine as tested by museum guards a million times ;-) etoy loves this and takes it as a proof of quality if museum staff gets involved... even if some of the artists dont like it.
agent zai loves
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's work very much. Easy to access, clear but still complex and very unique.
Critique:
exenomo set up an ego shooter that allows you to shoot random household items out into the green field and create fantastic noise to go with it.
Beauty:
agent haefliger voted for
mw2mw, by their own account, built a beautiful wall that sucks in flickr images and blends them beautifully. Possibly as much beauty as art can take.
agent zai prefers Anthony McCall's Light Installation
You and I, Horizontal III because it looks so simple and is so complex / advanced at the same time. People love to stare into the light of the projector which turns the work into a masterpiece of bidirectional art. The audience becomes part of the intangible sculpture while the picture on the wall is great - but only one part of the essence. wherever you look inside this system: beauty, intellectual challenge and art history blink back. brilliant!!!
Invest in art today: it's probably the
only value investment today with a clear buy and a straight face!
)-0.6%
